Underage Drinking

Although underage drinking is steadily declining, the use of alcohol is quite prevalent in today’s society. From middle school to high school and indeed college, underage drinking occurs all around the world. Though the legal drinking age is twenty-one, people as young as twelve years old consume alcohol. Due to genetics, peers, and social media underage drinking occurs. Without the help of families, schools, and extracurricular activities underage drinking would increase and negatively affect underage users physically, mentally, and socially.
Numerous underage drinkers consume alcohol due to hereditary, environmental, and social media factors. For example, the use of alcohol by underage individuals can be directly linked to genetics. In addition,
Physical problems include liver damage, as well as growth effects. An elevation of liver enzymes can occur due to drinking. Specifically, young drinkers who are overweight or obese show elevation of liver enzymes even with only moderate levels of drinking (National Institute of Alcohol Use and Alcoholism). In both males and females, puberty is a period when young individuals go through drastic hormonal changes. Hormonal changes include an increase in the sex hormones, estrogen and testosterone. These hormones result in the production of other hormones and growth factors, “which are vital for normal organ development” (National Institute of Alcohol Use and Alcoholism). If underage individuals drink alcohol during this development, the critical hormonal balance necessary for normal development of organs, muscles, and bones may be upset (National Institute of Alcohol Use and Alcoholism). Along with physical factors, there are mental factors such as brain damage that can occur. Exposing the brain to even a subtle amount of alcohol can interrupt vital processes of brain development, possibly leading to the impairment of cognitive functions. On top of physical and mental problems, a number of social consequences can
In fact, according to the National Institute of Alcohol Use and Alcoholism, motor vehicle crashes are the number one cause of death among youth ages fifteen to twenty who drink alcohol (Underage Drinking: A Major Public Health Challenge). Another interesting fact from the National Institute of Alcohol Use and Alcoholism states “the rate of fatal crashes among alcohol–involved drivers between 16 and 20 years old is more than twice the rate for alcohol–involved drivers 21 and older” (Underage Drinking: A Major Public Health Challenge). In other words, motor vehicle accidents due to the use of alcohol are more likely to occur with an underage individual behind the wheel. Along with motor vehicle accidents there is the risk of suicide, which is the third leading cause of death of individuals who drink between the ages of fourteen and twenty-five (National Institute of Alcohol Use and Alcoholism). Also, sexual assault, including rape, occurs commonly among women in late adolescence. The chances of sexual assault can increase due to an offenders use of alcohol, a victim, or in some cases both. Similar to sexual assault, high-risk sex, for example, having multiple sexual partners while not using condoms, can occur being under the influence. Although, there are a number of effects from alcohol use, specifically for underage individuals, there are multiple