Alcohol dependence often begins during puberty

ZI study: Alcohol consumption during puberty increases the risk of alcohol dependence

13/12/2013

Alcohol consumption during puberty has an influence on later drinking behavior and increases the risk of developing alcohol addiction. This is the conclusion of a study by the Mannheim Central Institute for Mental Health (ZI), published by the Federal Center for Health Education (BZgA). Accordingly, adolescents who drink alcohol for the first time between the ages of twelve and fourteen are at particular risk. So far, scientists have assumed that adolescents have a riskier drinking behavior in adulthood the sooner they had begun to consume alcohol. They are more likely to develop alcohol addiction than others. The addiction syndrome is colloquially referred to as addiction. Here, the reward system in the brain plays an essential role in the development of addiction.

A study by the Mannheim Central Institute for Mental Health (ZI), published by the Federal Center for Health Education (BZgA), has shown that not only the age of first alcohol consumption alone is an indicator of later alcohol addiction. Rather, the current degree of maturation of the brain plays a crucial role. Because during puberty, massive processes of remodeling and maturing take place in the brain, which are involved in the formation of motivation, the processing of emotions and also in the development of dependency. In addition to the maturation processes during pregnancy and shortly after birth, puberty is the second most important phase for the development of our brain, explains Miriam Schneider, co-author of the study.

The stages of puberty in girls and boys are biologically different. While puberty takes place among girls between the ages of ten and 14, boys between the ages of 12 and 17 are in this phase of life. It is assumed that alcohol interferes with the ongoing processes and, as a result, adolescents drink more and more adulthood in adulthood.

„During puberty, the foundation for later drinking is often laid“, so tailor. In the study, the scientists evaluated the data of 283 adolescents who were examined at the age of three months and subsequently regularly until their 23rd birthday. The focus was on the development of the children and under what social conditions they grew up. For in the past, the opinion was also held that the social environment is instrumental in the emergence of alcohol addiction.

It could be stated that the later adolescents began to consume alcohol, the lower the risk of later alcohol addiction. For BZgA director Elisabeth Pott, these results are evidence that addiction prevention campaigns must delay as much as possible the age at which alcohol is consumed, pointing to previous studies that have shown a decline in alcohol consumption in adolescents aged 12 to 15 years. Between 2004 and 2011, the average age at which young people in Germany come into contact with alcohol for the first time has at least been postponed by five months. According to the study, adolescents in Germany attacked the bottle for the first time at 14.5 years.

More and more teenagers after coma drinking in clinics
But not only positive things are to be reported regarding the alcohol consumption of adolescents. The number of „binge drinkers“, Those who had to be hospitalized with alcohol poisoning are still to be regarded with concern by statistical evaluations of the DAK. Thus, in 2012, more than 25,600 adolescents were registered with alcohol poisoning. But if you compare the figures to the numbers from 2003, you see a decline of almost 90 percent and how effective the government's efforts are. For teachers working on the topic „Alcohol and youth“ At the beginning of 2014, the BZgA will be releasing comprehensive teaching materials that are suitable for grades seven to ten. (Fr)