Underage Drinking

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Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Diagnosis and Tests
• Prevention and Risk Factors
• Treatments and Therapies

Learn More

• Related Issues

See, Play and Learn

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Research

• Statistics and Research
• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

Resources

• Find an Expert

For You

• Children
• Teenagers
• Patient Handouts

Summary

Alcohol is the most widely misused substance among America's youth. Drinking by young people has big health and safety risks. It is dangerous because it:

• Causes many deaths and injuries
• Can lead to poor decisions about engaging in risky behavior, such as drinking and driving or unprotected sex
• Increases the risk of physical and sexual assault
• Can lead to other problems, such as trouble in school
• May interfere with brain development
• Increases the risk of alcohol problems later in life

Kids often begin drinking to look "cool" or fit in with their peers. Parents can help their kids avoid alcohol problems. Open communication and conversations about drinking are important. So is being involved in your child's life. Get help for your child if you suspect a drinking problem.

NIH: National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism

Start Here

• About Underage Drinking (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Alcohol (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish
• Answering Questions about Underage Drinking (Federal Trade Commission)
• Fall Semester -- A Time for Parents To Discuss the Risks of College Drinking (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism) Also in Spanish
• Make a Difference: Talk to Your Child about Alcohol (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism) Also in Spanish
• Underage Drinking (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism) Also in Spanish

Diagnosis and Tests

• Blood Alcohol Level (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish

Prevention and Risk Factors

• College Drinking - Changing the Culture (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism)
• Underage Drinking: What Can Parents Do? (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Treatments and Therapies

• Substance Abuse Treatment for Children and Adolescents: Questions to Ask (American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry)

Related Issues

• Parents -- Talk with Your High School Grads about Celebrating Safely (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism) Also in Spanish

Statistics and Research

• A Day in the Life of American Adolescents: Substance Use Facts Update (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) - PDF
• College Drinking (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism)

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Alcohol and Youth (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: Stress-induced drinking in parents of adolescents with externalizing symptomatology: the moderating...
• Article: Decrease in the prevalence of adolescent alcohol use and its possible...
• Article: Adolescence, glucocorticoids and alcohol.
• Underage Drinking -- see more articles

Find an Expert

• FindTreatment.gov (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) Also in Spanish
• National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
• Partnership to End Addiction

Children

• Alcohol (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Teenagers

• Binge Drinking (Nemours Foundation)
• Dealing with Addiction (For Teens) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Patient Handouts

• Risks of underage drinking (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Talking to your teen about drinking (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish