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Pharmacology, Biochemistry, and Behavior May 2020Adolescence is a particularly vulnerable neurodevelopmental period marked by high rates of engagement with risky alcohol use. This review summarizes the cognitive and... (Review)
Review
Adolescence is a particularly vulnerable neurodevelopmental period marked by high rates of engagement with risky alcohol use. This review summarizes the cognitive and neural consequences following alcohol use during adolescence from longitudinal design studies in humans and animals. Findings from human adolescent studies suggest that binge drinking and heavy alcohol use is associated with poorer cognitive functioning on a broad range of neuropsychological assessments, including learning, memory, visuospatial functioning, psychomotor speed, attention, executive functioning, and impulsivity. Alcohol use during adolescence is associated with accelerated decreases in gray matter and attenuated increases in white matter volume, and aberrant neural activity during executive functioning, attentional control, and reward sensitivity tasks, when compared to non-drinking adolescents. Animal studies in rodents and non-human primates have replicated human findings, and suggest cognitive and neural consequences of adolescent alcohol use may persist into adulthood. Novel rodent studies demonstrate that adolescent alcohol use may increase reward responsiveness of the dopamine system to alcohol later in life, as well as disrupt adolescent neurogenesis, potentially through neuroinflammation, with long-lasting neural and behavioral effects into adulthood. Larger longitudinal human cognitive and neuroimaging studies with more diverse samples are currently underway which will improve understanding of the impact of polysubstance use, as well as the interactive effects of substance use, physical and mental health, and demographic factors on cognition and neurodevelopment.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Alcoholism; Animals; Attention; Binge Drinking; Brain; Cognition; Ethanol; Executive Function; Female; Humans; Impulsive Behavior; Male; Memory; Reward; Underage Drinking
PubMed: 32179028
DOI: 10.1016/j.pbb.2020.172906 -
Alcohol Research : Current Reviews 2018Binge drinking, commonly defined as consuming five or more standard drinks per occasion for men and four or more drinks for women, typically begins in adolescence.... (Review)
Review
Binge drinking, commonly defined as consuming five or more standard drinks per occasion for men and four or more drinks for women, typically begins in adolescence. Adolescents, although they may drink less often, tend to consume higher quantities of alcohol per occasion compared with adults. This developmental difference in pattern of alcohol consumption may result, in part, from maturational changes that involve an adolescent-specific sensitivity to certain alcohol effects and greater propensity for risk-taking behaviors, such as binge drinking. Adolescent binge drinking is associated with a range of acute alcohol-related harms, some of which may persist into adulthood. The prevalence of binge drinking, including high-intensity drinking (i.e., 10 or more and 15 or more drinks per occasion), has declined among adolescents in recent years. Overall, however, the proportion of youth who engage in binge drinking remains high. This article reviews the definition and prevalence of binge drinking in adolescence, trajectories of binge drinking and their correlates, and implications for prevention.
Topics: Adolescent; Adolescent Development; Binge Drinking; Humans; Underage Drinking
PubMed: 30557142
DOI: No ID Found -
Alcohol Research : Current Reviews 2018
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Alcohol Drinking in College; Animals; Binge Drinking; Female; Humans; Male; Underage Drinking; Young Adult
PubMed: 30557141
DOI: No ID Found -
Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs May 2021Alcohol is the most commonly used illegal drug among U.S. high school students. This study aimed to estimate the proportion of drinks and sales revenue accruing to...
OBJECTIVE
Alcohol is the most commonly used illegal drug among U.S. high school students. This study aimed to estimate the proportion of drinks and sales revenue accruing to alcoholic beverage companies that were attributable to underage consumption in 2011 and 2016.
METHOD
We used national survey data to estimate the number of adult and underage past-30-day drinkers, median volume of alcohol consumed, beverage preferences, and alcohol price by beverage type. We used Impact Databank to determine the total number of alcoholic drinks sold. After adjusting for underreporting, we applied the percentage of alcohol reported to be consumed by underage youth on surveys to the alcohol sales data by beverage type and assigned a beverage-specific cost.
RESULTS
Underage youth drank 11.73% of the alcoholic drinks sold in the U.S. market in 2011 and 8.6% in 2016. Total sales revenue attributable to underage consumption was $20.9 billion (10.0%) out of a total of $208.0 billion in 2011 and $17.5 billion (7.4%) out of $237.1 billion in 2016. Three alcoholic beverage companies represented nearly half (43.5%) of the market share of beverages consumed by underage youth.
CONCLUSIONS
Despite the alcoholic beverage industry's stated commitment to reducing underage drinking, significant revenues appear to accrue from this activity. This presents an opportunity to enact and enforce policies--such as alcohol taxes or required company funding of independently managed youth drinking prevention initiatives--that recover these revenues from the industry and use them to help achieve the goal of preventing youth alcohol consumption.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Alcohol Drinking; Alcoholic Beverages; Ethanol; Humans; Students; Underage Drinking
PubMed: 34100705
DOI: 10.15288/jsad.2021.82.368 -
Psychopharmacology Nov 2019Alcohol consumption in adolescents and emerging adults is a significant issue. However, our understanding of the topography of alcohol use within drinking episodes in...
RATIONALE
Alcohol consumption in adolescents and emerging adults is a significant issue. However, our understanding of the topography of alcohol use within drinking episodes in this population is at a nascent stage.
OBJECTIVES
This study characterized rate of alcohol consumption in the daily lives of problem drinkers ages 16-24 years (N = 75). We examined whether AUD symptoms and the presence of peers, factors relevant to alcohol consumption in youth, were associated with rate of consumption.
METHODS
Ecological momentary assessment (EMA) was used (N = 799). Rate of consumption was defined as change in estimated blood alcohol concentration (eBAC) relative to the start of the drinking episode. Piecewise multi-level modeling was used to test hypotheses. As a comparison, we examined whether indicators of quantity and frequency (Q-F) were associated with AUD symptoms and presence of peers.
RESULTS
For all participants, eBAC increased sharply early in the episode, then plateaued. Participants with more AUD symptoms or who were in the presence of peers had significantly steeper increases in eBAC over the early part of the episode. Participants with more AUD symptoms were also more likely to engage in binge-like behavior. For Q-F, only peak eBAC and peak number of standard drinks were associated with AUD symptoms, and not presence of peers.
CONCLUSIONS
Findings highlight the value of rate of consumption as an indicator of use in youth, one sensitive to the influence of relevant person-level and situational factors. Intervention efforts may benefit from targeting the speed at which youth drink.
Topics: Adolescent; Alcohol Drinking; Blood Alcohol Content; Female; Humans; Longitudinal Studies; Male; Peer Group; Self Report; Underage Drinking; Young Adult
PubMed: 31104151
DOI: 10.1007/s00213-019-05262-8 -
Academic Pediatrics 2020Evidence suggests that adolescents are exposed to alcohol marketing in digital media. We aimed to assess recall of Internet alcohol marketing and its association with...
OBJECTIVE
Evidence suggests that adolescents are exposed to alcohol marketing in digital media. We aimed to assess recall of Internet alcohol marketing and its association with underage drinking.
METHODS
New England adolescents age 12 to 17 years (N = 202) were recruited from a pediatric clinic. Subjects completed an online survey assessing: 1) general simple recall of Internet alcohol marketing and 2) image-prompted recall of specific Internet alcohol marketing channels (display ads, commercials, brand websites, and brand social media pages). Cross-sectional associations between recall (simple and image-prompted) and ever-drinking were each assessed in regression analysis adjusting for age, gender, race, parent education, ever-smoking, media use, sensation-seeking, peer/parent drinking, parent monitoring/responsiveness, and parent Internet monitoring.
RESULTS
In this sample (M = 14.5 years; 55% female; 89% white; high parent education), 20% reported ever-drinking and 87% recalled Internet alcohol marketing. Of the latter, 67% recalled display ads, 67% Internet commercials, 5% websites, and 5% social media pages. In logistic regression, higher simple Internet alcohol advertising recall was independently associated with higher odds of ever-drinking for simple (adjusted odds ratio: 2.66 [1.04,6.83]) but not for image-prompted recall.
CONCLUSIONS
Despite controlling for potential confounders, simple recall of Internet alcohol marketing was significantly associated with underage drinking whereas image-prompted recall was significant only in bivariate analysis, likely due to small sample and a more limited range of specific channels assessed than those accessed by adolescents. Further longitudinal studies using image-prompted recall and capturing a broader range of internet platforms could be used to better understand adolescent engagement with alcohol marketing and guide policy and prevention efforts.
Topics: Adolescent; Advertising; Female; Humans; Male; Mental Recall; New England; Surveys and Questionnaires; Underage Drinking
PubMed: 31401229
DOI: 10.1016/j.acap.2019.08.003 -
Alcohol Research : Current Reviews 2016Historical trends in alcohol use among U.S. adolescents, as well as data regarding alcohol-related traffic fatalities among youth, indicate decreases in alcohol use.... (Review)
Review
Historical trends in alcohol use among U.S. adolescents, as well as data regarding alcohol-related traffic fatalities among youth, indicate decreases in alcohol use. Nevertheless, alcohol use patterns still indicate high rates of binge drinking and drunkenness and the co-occurrence of alcohol use among youth with risky sexual activity, illicit substance use, and poor school performance. This article discusses unique elements of alcohol use among adolescents relative to adults that pose risks for alcohol misuse and alcohol-related problems. These differences range from patterns of drinking to differential sensitivity to alcohol. Developmental differences between adolescents and adults also are discussed with regard to age-normative developmental tasks and distinctions in brain development that may affect differences in drinking patterns. Epidemiologic findings on sexual-minority youth are provided, as are global trends in alcohol use among early adolescents and youth. It is proposed that using information about differences between youth and adults will be helpful in directing future etiologic and intervention research by capitalizing on unique biological, psychological, and social factors that may affect the success of efforts to reduce alcohol use among early adolescents and youth.
Topics: Adolescent; Adolescent Behavior; Adolescent Development; Alcoholism; Binge Drinking; Female; Global Health; Humans; Male; Minority Groups; Risk-Taking; Sex Factors; Sexuality; Underage Drinking; United States
PubMed: 27159816
DOI: No ID Found -
American Journal of Preventive Medicine Oct 2016Underage drinking and its associated problems have profound negative consequences for underage drinkers themselves, their families, their communities, and society as a...
Underage drinking and its associated problems have profound negative consequences for underage drinkers themselves, their families, their communities, and society as a whole, and contribute to a wide range of costly health and social problems. There is increased risk of negative consequences with heavy episodic or binge drinking. Alcohol is a factor related to approximately 4,300 deaths among underage youths in the U.S. every year. Since the mid-1980s, the nation has launched aggressive underage drinking prevention efforts at the federal, state, and local levels, and national epidemiologic data suggest that these efforts are having positive effects. For example, since 1982, alcohol-related traffic deaths among youth aged 16-20 years have declined by 79%. Evidence-based or promising strategies for reducing underage drinking include those that limit the physical, social, and economic availability of alcohol to youth, make it illegal for drivers aged <21 years to drive after drinking, and provide mechanisms for early identification of problem drinkers. Strategies may be implemented through a comprehensive prevention approach including policies and their enforcement, public awareness and education, action by community coalitions, and early brief alcohol intervention and referral programs. This paper focuses on underage drinking laws and their enforcement because these constitute perhaps the most fundamental component of efforts to limit youth access to and use of alcohol.
Topics: Accidents, Traffic; Adolescent; Age Factors; Federal Government; Female; Humans; Law Enforcement; Male; Preventive Health Services; Underage Drinking; United States; Young Adult
PubMed: 27476384
DOI: 10.1016/j.amepre.2016.05.020 -
The Lancet. Public Health Feb 2018
Topics: Adolescent; Alcohol Drinking; Humans; Risk-Taking; Underage Drinking
PubMed: 29422185
DOI: 10.1016/S2468-2667(18)30010-0 -
Journal of Health Economics Jan 2022Low minimum legal drinking ages (MLDAs), as prevalent in many European countries, are severely understudied. We use rich survey and administrative data to estimate the...
Low minimum legal drinking ages (MLDAs), as prevalent in many European countries, are severely understudied. We use rich survey and administrative data to estimate the impact of the Austrian MLDA of 16 on teenage drinking behavior and morbidity. Regression discontinuity estimates show that legal access to alcohol increases the frequency and intensity of drinking, which results in more hospital admissions due to alcohol intoxication. The effects are stronger for boys and teenagers with low socioeconomic background. Evidence suggests that the policy's impact cannot be fully explained by access. Data from an annual large-scale field study show that about 25 percent of retailers sell even hard liquor to underage customers. More generally, perceived access to alcohol is very high and hardly changes at the MLDA. However, teenagers consider binge drinking at weekends to be less harmful after gaining legal access.
Topics: Adolescent; Age Factors; Alcohol Drinking; Alcoholic Beverages; Binge Drinking; Humans; Male; Underage Drinking
PubMed: 34923345
DOI: 10.1016/j.jhealeco.2021.102571