Adolescence | Addiction Treatment Strategies

Adolescents who misuse alcohol and drugs are at increased risk of continued misuse well into middle age. They are also at increased risk of experiencing mental health problems, accidents, physical health problems, premature death, financial problems, and suicide attempts. These are the results of a doctoral thesis presented by Yasmina Molero Samuelson at the Center for Psychiatric Research (CPF), Karolinska Institutet.
 
In the present thesis, Yasmina Molero Samuelson has followed two large cohorts of adolescents for several decades. These cohorts received treatment for substance misuse at a clinic in Stockholm, Sweden during two time…

New Data Shows Average Age of First Use Dropping;
White House Drug Policy Director Warns of Consequences of Rising Teen Marijuana Use
Washington, DC—Gil Kerlikowske, Director of National Drug Policy (ONDCP), today alerted parents to the heightened dangers of marijuana use that has risen sharply, with kids starting to use the drug at a younger age.
According to recently released data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), released by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), there were 2.4 million new past-year users of marijuana in 2009 and the average age of initiation – first-time use…

Both animal and human research suggest that an early age at first drink (AFD) may lead to greater stress-induced drinking. This study examined possible interactions between AFD and stressful life events, and whether these interactions would have an impact on drinking patterns during young adulthood. The findings suggest than an early AFD may indeed be a risk factor for later heavy drinking when precipitated by a number of stressful life events.
Results will be published in the June 2011 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Researchand are currently available at Early View.
“It has long been known that an early beginning…

…findings of the 22nd annual Partnership Attitude Tracking Study (PATS), released by The Partnership at Drugfree.org and MetLife Foundation earlier this month, echo the reality that substance abuse treatment professionals see every day. The study shows that underage drinking has become more normalized among adolescents. Of those teens who reported alcohol use, 62 percent said they had their first full alcoholic drink by age 15, not including sipping or tasting alcohol. Of those teens who reported alcohol use, 25 percent said they drank a full alcoholic drink for the first time by age 12 or younger. Almost half of teens (45 percent)…

New research released today shows teenagers respond differently to drugs than adults and explores the long-lasting effects of drug use on brain development. One study shows people who start using drugs at a young age have greater cognitive shortfalls, including mental flexibility. Animal studies also suggest adolescents are more susceptible to lower doses of cocaine, are willing to work more for a cocaine “fix” than adults, and are at risk of developing compromised stress responses. The research findings were presented at Neuroscience 2010, the Society for Neuroscience’s annual meeting and the world’s largest source…

Researchers writing in the open access journal BMC Public Health studied the drinking habits of 9,833 15- to 16-year-olds in the North West of England, finding that excessively low cost alcohol products and illicit purchase are strongly related to harmful underage drinking.
 
Mark Bellis worked with a team from Liverpool John Moores University and Trading Standards (North West) to survey the teens’ alcohol consumption patterns, drink types consumed, drinking locations, methods of access and harms encountered. He said: “Regretted sex after drinking, having been involved in violence when drunk, consuming alcohol in public…

Both animal and human research suggest that an early age at first drink (AFD) may lead to greater stress-induced drinking. This study examined possible interactions between AFD and stressful life events, and whether these interactions would have an impact on drinking patterns during young adulthood. The findings suggest than an early AFD may indeed be a risk factor for later heavy drinking when precipitated by a number of stressful life events.
Results will be published in the June 2011 issue of Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research and are currently available at Early View.
“It has long been known that an early beginning…

As we prepare to send kids back to classrooms for another school year, it’s important to equip parents and caregivers with the tools for talking with their children about alcohol. This issue is especially personal for me because my beautiful 15-year-old daughter, Alisa Joy, was killed by an underage drunk driver. While the pain of losing a loved one to drunk driving is devastating, we at Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) are committed to educating families about how to prevent such needless tragedies.
. However, research shows that three out of four teens say their parents are the number one influence on their decisions about alcohol….

Image via Wikipedia
Researchers have known for years that teens are less sensitive than adults to the motor-impairing effects of alcohol, but they do not know exactly what is happening in the brain that causes teens to be less sensitive than adults. But now, neuropsychologists at Baylor University have found the particular cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the age-dependent effect of alcohol in teens that may cause the reduced motor impairment.
The study appeared on-line in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research. The study is the first to identify a mechanism underlying one of the main behavioral…