Female adolescents who drank at home were more likely to drink more in college!

A study of 449 college-bound female high school seniors who were not allowed by their parents to drink alcohol at all engaged in less binge drinking while in college compared to those who were allowed to drink at home with friends. The authors suggest that parental drinking permissiviveness and later binge drinking is heavily influenced by the mother's alcohol approval. Even parent-monitored drinking does not protect adolescents from drinking heavily later. 

PositiveTip: Prohibit your adolescents from drinking alcoholic beverages at home for their later benefit.

Kids who did not drink at home are less likely to drink as heavily outside the home.

Dutch researchers examined whether parent-monitored drinking as well as drinking with best friends slowed the usual increase in alcohol consumption and binge drinking patterns in adolescents as they grew older. The authors conclude, “Our findings suggest that parents who do not want their children to develop heavy drinking patterns later on should prohibit alcohol use of their adolescent children at home and outside the home at an early age.”

PositiveTip: Beware of the idea of parent-monitored drinking. Not allowing teens to drink is the best prevention!

Mixing alcohol and energy drinks increases binge drinking, sexual indiscretion and drunk driving.

The common practice among youth and young adults of mixing energy drinks with alcoholic beverages increases the risk of binge drinking by 300 per cent.  It also doubles the risk of being taken advantage of sexually, of taking sexual advantage of someone else, and doubles the likelihood of riding with a driver under the influence. 

PositiveTip:  Choose alternative non-alcoholic drinks over alcoholic and caffeinated beverages. They don’t carry these dangerous risks!

Binge drinkers do not benefit from moderate amounts of alcohol.

Last year we asked the question: could it be that those who benefit from moderate drinking really benefit from a personality trait that keeps them moderate in all of life?

A new European study has confirmed that the cardiovascular risks associated with binge drinking are not equivalent to drinking the same amount of alcohol over a week's time.

PositiveTip: Beware of the lure of moderate alcohol use. 

Binge-drinking increases brain tissue degeneration in adolescent monkeys even after they quit drinking.

Is there a long-term impact from binge drinking during the teenage years?

Researchers from the Scripps Institute explored this question by letting adolescent macaque monkeys drink amounts of alcohol equivalent to teenage binge drinking for 11 months. Then they withdrew all alcohol for 8-10 weeks, and examined their brain tissue. Compared to non-drinking monkeys, they found that the binge-drinkers had significantly greater brain tissue degeneration.

PositiveTip: It is essential to  educate teens about the long-term, permanent changes that can be the result of reckless behaviors.