Socioeconomic Status, Cognitive Tests May Predict Who Experiments With Underage Drinking

Experts have enumerated the risks of underage drinking for years, finding that it increases the risk of sexual assault, impaired judgement, and even serious injuries that can lead to death. Despite all this, young people still drink a lot — about 5.4 million people between the ages of 12 and 20 in the United States report binge drinking each year. In an effort to prevent these behaviors, a team of researchers has discovered that certain demographic factors, brain features, and cognitive functions are present in children who grow up to drink lots of alcohol.

“We were able to predict, with 74 percent accuracy, which 12-to 14-year old youth eventually went on to engage in alcohol use by late adolescence,” said Lindsay Squeglia, assistant professor in the department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Medical University of South Carolina, in a press release.

Fact Sheets – Alcohol Use and Your Health

Excessive alcohol use led to approximately 88,000 deaths and 2.5 million years of potential life lost each year in the United States from 2006 – 2010, shortening the lives of those who died by an average of 30 years. Further, excessive drinking was responsible for 1 in 10 deaths among working-age adults aged 20-64 years.

Everything You Think You Know About Addiction Is Wrong

What really causes addiction — to everything from cocaine to smart-phones? And how can we overcome it? Johann Hari has seen our current methods fail firsthand, as he has watched loved ones struggle to manage their addictions. He started to wonder why we treat addicts the way we do — and if there might be a better way. As he shares in this deeply personal talk, his questions took him around the world, and unearthed some surprising and hopeful ways of thinking about an age-old problem.

Johann Hari

Journalist

Johann Hari spent three years researching the war on drugs; along the way, he discovered that addiction is not what we think it is. Full bio

Teen Addiction Traumatizes Younger Siblings

The Betty Ford Center Children’s Program Reminds Parents That Summer Is the Time Teens and Young Adults Are Most Likely to Try Drugs and Alcohol for the First Time

CENTER CITY, MN–(Marketwired – July 19, 2016) – The unlimited freedom that summer provides for many preteens and young adults sometimes leads to first-time use of alcohol or drugs, which can open the door to the addiction trap and traumatize families, particularly younger siblings. Two recent studies by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (Teen Study, Young Adult Study) indicate that June and July are when experimentation with these dangerous substances peaks.

“What is disturbing is that on an average June or July day, more than 11,000 adolescents use alcohol for the first time,” says Jerry Moe, National Director of the Children’s Program, part of the Hazelden Betty Ford Foundation. “This can have lasting negative effects on younger kids who see their older siblings engaging in this behavior.”

Moe has closely observed the effects that addiction has on younger brothers and sisters. These range from feeling forgotten by the family to being bullied by siblings trapped by addiction. Many kids who have completed the Children’s Program report that older siblings sometimes:

What Science Says To Do If Your Loved One Has An Opioid Addiction

When a family member, spouse or other loved one develops an opioid addiction — whether to pain relievers like Vicodin or to heroin — few people know what to do.

Families are sometimes overwhelmed with conflicting advice about what should come next. Much of the advice given by treatment groups and programs ignores what the data says in a similar way that anti-vaccination or climate skeptic websites ignore science. The addictions field is neither adequately regulated nor effectively overseen. There are no federal standards for counseling practices or rehab programs. In many states, becoming an addiction counselor doesn’t require a high school degree or any standardized training. “There’s nothing professional about it, and it’s not evidence-based,” said Dr. Mark Willenbring, the former director of treatment research at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, who now runs a clinic that treats addictions.

For nearly three decades, I’ve been writing about addiction and drug policy. I’ve dived into the data and written several books on the subject, including an exposé of tough love programs for troubled teens. I’ve also had personal experience: What got me interested in the area was my own struggle with heroin and cocaine addiction in the 1980s.

To try to help sort fact from fiction, I’ve put together an evidence-based guide about what the science of opioid addiction recommends for people trying to help a loved one suffering from addiction. This guide is based on the best research data available in the addictions field right now: systematic reviews, clinical trials of medications and talk therapies, and large collections of real-world data from many countries — all using the highest level of evidence available, based on the standards of evidence-based medicine.

Addiction recovery app makes its debut

Ryan Brannon saw the need for a mobile app to help recovering addicts of his generation when he was a student at Indiana University of Pennsylvania two years ago.

With a team of 13 friends and people he found through college networking or online advertisements, Brannon formed a nonprofit, raised $70,000 and is now on the doorstep of filling that need with the public release of the app, My New Leaf.

At the nonprofit’s office in Saltsburg last week, the app was unveiled in a “ribbon cutting” ceremony before members of recovery agencies that are being asked to test and review it for the next month.

“The release was a very nerve-wracking experience for me because we were finally showing (the app) beyond pictures,” Brannon said. “It was a relief that they were receptive and impressed.”

Signs of alcoholism you won’t want to ignore

I’m sure it won’t surprise you that I could tell you more than 10 signs of alcoholism! With over 24 years’ experience as a (couple) counsellor and over 8,000 counselling sessions under my belt, I’ve seen many different signs and symptoms of alcohol misuse.

I’ve seen both individuals and couples who presented with the effects of alcoholism – their lives, including their relationship, slowly unravelling. In fact, I should really say – I often discovered that there was an alcohol problem. They often came for help with their depression, stress and anger problems problems and… “Oh, by the way… I am/he or she is drinking a bit too much”.

This article is for you individually whether you are the drinker or the partner of someone with an alcohol problem, as there is some extra advice for you.