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Sleep-deprived children are more likely grow up to be teenagers who abuse drugs and alcohol, according to a new study from Idaho State University.

• Professor Maria Wong kept track of 386 children from the time they were three years old until they reached their early 20s.
  
• Children who had trouble sleeping were more likely to use illegal drugs like marijuana, heroin, and cocaine as young adults.
  
• These individuals were also at increased risk for binge drinking and blackouts.

"The bottom line is that sleep is important," said Tim Roehrs, director of research at the Sleep Disorders and Research Center in Detroit. "Even if it is not causal for these relations, improving sleep will modify and minimize the risks. In the addicted adult, at least the alcoholic, sleep problems that remain after the initial acute withdrawal are predictive of relapse."

The Idaho study appeared in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.

Labels: sleep deprivation, drug-abuse, alcohol abuse

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Martha Hernandez was 17 when she died recently from a simultaneous alcohol and drug overdose. In the weeks leading up to her death, there were signs that something wasn’t right. Groups like Richmond Addiction Services (RAS) in Canada want parents to know that a child doesn’t have to be addicted to be in trouble.

Some teens are too young to have formed an addition. That doesn’t mean their drug and alcohol use isn’t dangerous, as has been underscored with the deaths of Hernandez and her friend, Kayla Lalonde, both of whom died within a few hours of each other after consuming fatal amounts of booze and drugs. [Source: Richmond News]

Neither girl would have been diagnosed an “addict,” but deadly consequences can result from the misuse of drugs or alcohol whether the person is addicted or not.

 

Labels: alcohol abuse, drug addiction, substance use, awareness

Posted By: Teen Drug Help 0 Comments

If teenagers live near a store that sells tobacco and liquor, they are more likely to smoke and drink, according to a new study from the University of California, San Diego, and San Diego State University.

Dr. Joshua West and his colleagues removed the risk factors such as peer pressure in order to study only the effect of living near a liquor and tobacco retail outlet.

"It turns out that proximity to a retailer is important to an adolescent's decision to use alcohol and tobacco," said Dr. West. He believes the reason may be that many teenagers do not have access to transportation.
 

Labels: alcohol abuse, risks

Posted By: Jane St. Clair 0 Comments

A study from Africa has found a link between difficult childhood experiences and alcohol consumption in adolescence.

• Caroline Kabiru and her colleagues from the African Population and Health Research Center studied 9,189 children ages 12 to 19 years old.
• The researchers asked the children whether they had been drunk in the past year.
• The 9% of participants who said they had been intoxicated were more likely to live with a problem drinker, to have been physically abused or coerced into having sex, and to dwell in households where food was scarce.
• These results are similar to other studies in other parts of the world.

The study appeared in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health.
 

Labels: alcohol abuse, family

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 1 Comment

People who have trouble sleeping, even teenagers, may turn to alcohol for help. And, while alcohol can help a person fall asleep, it causes other sleep problems.

Alcohol is known to interfere with the rapid eye movement (REM) stage of sleep, thus causing the sleeper to feel even less rested after awakening. ...

[Sara] Pieters and her team of researchers found that there was an association between earlier use of alcohol among the teens who tended to stay up later and who had problems such as difficulty falling asleep, staying asleep, and who also perceived themselves as more tired.[Source: PsychCentral]

Though Pieters’ research showed a connection between sleep problems and alcohol, it wasn’t able to determine the causal relationship – whether sleep problems lead to alcohol use or alcohol use causes sleep problems.

 

 

Labels: alcohol abuse, sleep, teen

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A new study out of the Caron Treatment Center suggests that parents’ behavior may unintentionally influence their children's toward drinking.

“Nearly a third of the 12-18 year olds surveyed said they have observed one or both of their parents drinking alcohol to ‘relax’ or ‘relieve stress’ after a hard day (32%). ‘Parents need to talk about why it is acceptable for adults to drink alcohol in moderation. Otherwise, they may unknowingly be communicating a mixed message,’ said [David] Rotenberg.” [Source: Broward County Parenting Teens Examiner]

The same survey found that over 50 percent of teenagers think their parents are more concerned with their grades than whether or not they drink. Parents are encouraged to talk to their kids about expectations and rules surrounding drinking, and to be clear about the consequences if rules are broken.

Labels: alcohol abuse, parental drinking, parents

Posted By: CRC Health Group 0 Comments

Yet another reason to end teen binge drinking and other forms of alcohol abuse among teen boys: Men who have high blood pressure are at increased risk of dying from either a heart attack or stroke if they go on alcoholic binges, according to a new study from Korea.

Dr. J.W. Sull and his colleagues at Eulji University studied 6100 people over the age of 55 years old. They defined binge drinking as six or more drinks on one occasion, and heavy binge drinking as 12.

• Men with high blood pressure who were binge drinkers increased their risk of death by heart attack or stroke almost four times, compared to those who abstain and do not have high blood pressure.
• Men who were heavy binge drinkers and who suffered from hypertension were 12 times as likely to die from heart attacks and strokes as those who had normal blood pressure and did not drink.

Almost 92% of American adults say they have participated in binge drinking in the past month, according to the Centers for Disease Control.

Labels: alcohol abuse, health problems, binge drinking

Posted By: CRC Health Group 0 Comments

A community coalition to prevent substance abuse recently surveyed over 500 teens and adults about their perceptions of underage drinking.

“While the survey did not ask about actual behaviors related to underage drinking, the results give a glimpse into what the community perceives about the issue. A comparison of answers by the two groups reveals that teens and parents have varying perceptions of what young people drink, when they drink and why.” [Source: Brandermill (VA) Community Association]

Among the most interesting results were answers to the question “Why do you think high school students drink?”

• Most parents (56%) think teens drink to fit in, while only 35% of teens say that’s the reason.
• In comparison, 31% of teens said they drink to feel good or relieve stress, while only 11% of parents cited that as a reason.
• The disparities point to some important shifts that need to happen in adults’ perceptions of underage drinking – shifts that could help us address the problem more effectively.

Labels: alcohol abuse, parents, underage-drinking

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments

Researchers have identified another area concern for those who are worried about the prevalence of alcohol abuse among college students. Arrests for drinking-related offenses at a typical college campus increase by six times when there is a home football game, according to a new study from the University of Florida.

Researchers found that arrests will average 12 on a normal Saturday in a "university town with a successful NCAA football team." However, when there is a home game taking place, there will be 70 arrests on average.

"Though efforts have been made to combat excessive drinking on holidays, more effort is needed to address significant binge drinking among students and other spectators that is associated with high profile collegiate sporting events," according to the report.

Critics of the study said that increases in arrests are due to the number of police typically patrolling football games.

Labels: alcohol abuse, alcohol, college

Posted By: Aspen Education Group 0 Comments

Alcohol abuse on college campuses continues to take a deadly toll. The number of alcohol-related deaths around college campuses is rising, according to a study sponsored by the National Institutes of Health. The study found an average of 35 such deaths every week, with 1440 in 1998, compared to 1825 in 2009.

"These are tragically unacceptable high figures that indicate an urgent need for colleges and surrounding communities to implement evidence-based prevention and counseling programs," said Dr. Ralph Hingson, director of the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

Alcohol-related deaths among those ages 18 to 24 years old most often occurred during traffic accidents. The study found that more students were binge drinking, that is, having five or more alcoholic drinks in one sitting. The percentage of students who admit to drinking and driving increased from 27% 29% in the past year.

Labels: alcohol abuse, death, college

Posted By: Jane St. Clair 2 Comments

A new study out of the Universite de Montreal has found that popular students are likely to engage in teen substance abuse in order to retain their popularity. The study followed more than 500 young people between the ages of ten and 15, and tracked their drug and alcohol consumption.

“Although experimentation increased with age, regardless of social status, Fallu and his colleagues found that popularity significantly compounded consumption. In fact, by age 15, the ‘cool kids’ – when affiliating with drug-using popular friends – were consuming twice as often as other youths. In other words, this effect was only seen with popular adolescents whose friends were also popular.” - Source: Postmedia News

The study results are exactly the opposite of what many parents and teachers have believed for years – that drinking and drug use are actions taken by kids seeking popularity. Instead, it’s the already-popular ones who feel the pressure and are at greatest risk for substance abuse.

 

Labels: drug-abuse, alcohol abuse, students

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