The Health Factor
Early heavy alcohol abuse is likely to affect the growth and development of the human brain. The negative effects could be irreparable brain damage that will affect the person’s memory, spatial operation, planning and executive functioning, and attention later in life (17). “Damages to the young brain interfere with mental and social development, and interrupt academic progress (2).” It can also lead to loss of memory and even blackouts (18).
Tom Atwood stated in his article “The Consequences of Underage Drinking,”
Side effects may be more than a "beer belly"
“Eighty-seven percent of drinking adults began before age twenty-one, and adult alcohol abuse is most common among those who began to drink in their early mid-teens. The average age someone starts drinking is at twelve, and very few begin at the age twenty-one.”
Alcohol affects your self-control meaning that it, “depresses your central nervous system, lowers your inhibitions, and impairs your judgment (15).” When you have impaired judgment, you become a danger to yourself and others. If your central nervous system is affected and an individual is depressed, this can lead to suicide or homicide (15). Lowered inhibitions can result in youths being sexually assaulted or becoming assailants. It can lead to unprotected sex, which can result in an unexpected pregnancy or the spreading of sexually transmitted diseases (15).
“Over the period of 1991-2001, the Youth Risk Behavior Survey found that while the overall prevalence of sexual activity had not changed, the prevalence of alcohol or drug use before last sexual intercourse had increased. Of sexually active high school students surveyed in 2003, 23% report using drugs or alcohol during their most recent sexual experience, and a quarter of teens report having participated in sexual activity while using drugs or alcohol that they would have foregone had they been sober. Many teens report using alcohol or even being intoxicated when they had their first sexual experience. Alcohol and other drugs can affect judgment and lead to risk taking, with especially serious consequences for teens. Substance abuse affects a person’s ability to make judgments about sexual behavior, thus increasing the risk for pregnancy, sexual assault, and sexually transmitted infections (3 & 9).”