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Teen Binge Drinking

By Lori Enomoto

Binge drinking has long- and short-term harmful effects, some of which scientists are just beginning to understand. A new study shows that binge drinking affects the brains of developing adolescents.

What Is Binge Drinking?

First, let’s define binge drinking. For males, it’s defined by drinking five or more drinks consecutively; for females, it’s four or more drinks in a row. Binge drinking can take place in one evening or over the span of a couple days. This pattern of excessive alcohol consumption is accompanied by the intention to get intoxicated.

For better or for worse, teens are passionate about what they do, so it’s no surprise that many overdo it when it comes to drinking. Since teens tend to feel less negative effects from drinking, such as nausea, they don’t have the same red flags to cue them to stop drinking. 

There are a variety of reasons teens want to get drunk. It’s a way to temporarily forget responsibilities and loosen up. Sometimes it is used as a prelude to sex, particularly if one partner is reticent.

Mixing energy drinks with alcohol is a growing trend, which can result in teens drinking more alcohol than they would otherwise, since it doesn’t taste as much like alcohol and the depressant effects are countered by an energy drink buzz. “Alcopop” or sweetened alcohol products, such as alcohol lemonade, come premixed and are popular with teens. Since it doesn’t taste like alcohol, teens who don’t like the taste of alcohol may overindulge, and some teens may not realize they’re getting intoxicated.

Teen binge drinking often occurs in groups when young people are at weekend parties. For teens living at home, sometimes parents are aware of alcohol being served and look the other way, or rationalize that at least the teens are drinking in a “safe” environment. It’s good to get to know the parents of your teen’s friends to get an understanding of their views on teenage drinking. 

The Research on Binge Drinking

Studies show that binge drinking in high school is predictive of binge drinking in college. Despite the more recent awareness and efforts of college administrations, fraternities and sororities to limit drinking on campus, it’s still an inexpensive and common way to socialize. Recent studies show that abstinence is up and binge drinking is down, but the dangers for those who do go overboard are still very real. In addition to the more obvious dangers, binge drinking during college is associated with mental health disorders such as compulsiveness, depression, anxiety or early deviant behavior.

According to studies cited by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services:

• Binge drinking generally begins around age 13, peaks from ages 18 to 22 and then gradually decreases.
• Frequent binge drinkers were eight times more likely than non-binge drinkers to miss a class, fall behind in schoolwork, get hurt or injured and damage property.

Immediate Dangers of Teen Drinking

Most of us have heard the horror stories about teens and intoxication and in extreme cases, alcohol poisoning, which can result in:

• Trauma
• Asphyxiation (on vomit)
• Unconsciousness/Coma
• Death

The symptoms of binge drinking include vomiting, delirium, convulsions, clammy and bluish skin and slow, and irregular breathing (10 or more seconds between breaths or less than eight breaths in a minute).

Getting Behind the Wheel

Teen drinking is inextricably linked to teen deaths due to car accidents, the leading cause of death among teens. According to a National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism study, more than 60 percent of college men and almost 50 percent of college women who are frequent binge drinkers reported that they drink and drive.

Each year, more than 5,000 16- to 20-year-olds die in car accidents and 400,000 are seriously injured. Statistics show that about 23% of drivers 15 to 20 years old who die in car accidents were considered legally drunk, with blood alcohol levels of at least 0.08.

Weight Gain

Teen drinking is also linked to weight gain. Alcoholic drinks are high in calories and low in nutritional value. If your teens aren’t gaining weight, they may be sacrificing nutrition. Or if they’re gaining weight, it may be due to alcohol consumption.

The Extent of the Problem

The good news is fewer teens are reporting that they binge drink. The bad news is that in certain metropolitan areas, hospital statistics show more teens showing up in the emergency room from binge drinking. These may both be true. Fewer teens may be binge drinking, but the ones who do are consuming dangerous amounts, triggering visits to the emergency room. They’re intentionally drinking until they pass out.

The Drug Abuse Warning Network, which is part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, found that four of 12 cities showed significant increases in visits of teens to emergency rooms: Denver, Phoenix, New York City and San Diego, which showed the highest increase of 139%.

Binge Drinking and the Teen Brain

Scientists are learning more about the negative long-term effects of binge drinking on teens’ brains, which are still in development due to the maturation process that continues into adolescence.

A recent study through UC San Diego has shown differences in the white matter or nerve cells of the brains of teens who binge drink as infrequently as once or twice a month. The scientist who conducted the study compared brain scans of teens who binge drink and those who don’t. The teens were followed as 12- to 14-year-olds, before some started binge drinking behavior, as well as afterwards.

Of the teens who went on to binge drink, their brain scans showed abnormalities – discernable “dings” in the white matter of the brains of those teens. It’s not yet known if the damage is reversible, or the full effects of these “dings.”

In girls, the changes to the brain corresponded to lower scores on tests measuring spatial function – skills associated with math and engineering disciplines. In boys, the changes corresponded to lower attention spans. The scientist in charge of the study quantified the “before” and “after” capabilities as revealing a deficit of about 10%, or, as she said, the difference between scoring an A and a B.

The functioning of the hippocampus in the forebrain was also studied, an area which regulates memory and emotion. In this study, binge drinking was associated with loss of memory function. These teens scored lower on verbal material than teens who didn’t binge drink. Similar to the effects on white matter of the brain, it’s unknown whether this loss of brain function is reversible.

Binge Drinking Is Drinking Taken Too Far

Take the time to talk to your teens about the dangers of binge drinking. It’s encouraging that fewer teens are reporting that they binge drink. Knowing the facts and understanding that there are potential long-term effects on the brain may give teens reason enough to curtail binge drinking behavior on their own.