Parents span the spectrum when it comes to how they feel about teen drinking. Some prefer that their teen take no drinks at all, while others believe that one or two experimentations are a normal part of adolescence and do not warrant concern.
Recent research looked at how alcohol’s effects during an initial experience contribute to drinking patterns for adolescents. Chung and Martin (2009) recently looked at the subjective response to both the stimulant and sedative effects of alcohol. They then evaluated them as predictors of adolescents’ severity of drinking behaviors before treatment and over a one year follow-up.
Prior research has focused mainly on the sedative effects of alcohol and how they impact early drinking experiences. This study sought to evaluate not only sedation but also stimulation and how those experiences impacted the adolescents’ choices.
The researchers examined the responses of 169 adolescents who were recruited from addiction treatment. The adolescents indicated the number of drinks needed to obtain stimulant and sedative effects of alcohol for early and heavy drinking periods.
The adolescents’ number of drinks required to experience sedative and stimulant effects were examined both at baseline (before treatment) and at a one year follow-up evaluation. The researchers not only looked at the stimulant and sedative effects, but also the degree to which these effects were experienced at the baseline and the follow-up.
The results of the study indicate that females reported a greater degree of sedative effect compared with males in their early drinking experiences. There was no difference between the genders, however, with the stimulant effect experienced.
Both early sedative and stimulant effects predicted the number of drinks needed to experience a level of intoxication. The effects of both also predicted the maximum number of drinks per day before seeking treatment. Only early sedative effects established a prediction for one-year follow-up outcomes.
The study’s findings suggest that both early stimulant and sedative effects are important predictors for future drinking behaviors for adolescent alcohol treatment. How adolescents interpret their early drinking experiences greatly impacts their choices for alcohol consumption.
Future research might examine the drinking behaviors of adolescents that have had some alcohol exposure, but have not required treatment, to determine how stimulant and sedative effects impact the drinking behaviors of those who have not required treatment. It is possible that adolescents that have not required treatment have a different level of sedative or stimulant effects from alcohol.
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