Easy availability and dramatic increases in alcohol consumption are producing a legacy of teenage alcoholics. Nuala Macklin reports
It's a gloomy fact of Irish life that ours is an exceptionally alcohol-permissive culture. It came as little surprise to learn this year that 13 is currently the average age that young people start to consume alcohol.
While every "drinker" will not become an alcoholic, adolescents who begin drinking before age 15 are much more likely to develop alcohol dependence than those who begin drinking at 21, according to experts who spoke to The Irish Times.
Excess disposable incomes, peer pressure and genetic pre-dispositions are some of the factors that contribute to teen alcohol addiction. Anecdotal evidence strongly suggests a wide availability of so-called "alcopops", offer an easier initial path to regular alcohol consumption, with taste and sweetness factors.
Increasingly linked with fatal car accidents involving teenagers, alcohol is also linked to unplanned teenage pregnancies, sexually transmitted diseases and violent crime. And it is often linked with drug abuse.
Positive endorsement from advertising makes it unreasonable to expect young people to develop any sort of balanced attitude towards alcohol.
Many Irish experts believe advertising contributes to heavy and binge-drinking being "normalised" in our society through years of neglect of this subject. Various initiatives, that include the STFA (Strategic Task Force on Alcohol), which is critical of advertising standards, and MEAS (which promotes mature enjoyment of alcohol in society) aim to address the problem of underage drinking.
Dr Conor Farren, consultant psychiatrist at St Patrick's Hospital in Dublin says: "It's a very worrying trend. I am certainly beginning to see younger people being referred for assessment as to whether or not they have an alcohol dependency or addiction. Clearly a certain percentage is developing a problem.
"A lot of teenage drinking will be done in secret so indications will not be immediately apparent to parents. These can be: difficulty with schoolwork, a change in mood; a disgruntled attitude, or being teenagers, an even more disgruntled attitude than usual; irritability or aggression with siblings, or failure to show up at social orientated events can be a sign that all is not well."
The percentage of people who develop problems is directly proportional to the amount of alcohol consumed in the country overall, he adds. "We have seen a 41 per cent increase in the consumption of alcohol in the last 10 years. You can't have a massive increase like this without a subsequent increase in dependence rate over the next 10 years."
Citing the absence of counter-balancing information as a core problem, he says: "If we just receive an explosion of awareness about alcohol and the associated messages are all positive, how can any person, young or old, develop a healthy attitude towards alcohol consumption? You don't see any of the sponsors putting up health warnings about alcohol abuse alongside the signs for their products".
Strong influence can come from the home where there may be a very pro-alcohol culture. Children may see their parents drinking heavily and alcohol may be freely available at home. "It's not a case of what people say, it's what they do that counts," Dr Farren notes.
More than two decades ago we had the same analogous peer pressure, yet we didn't have the same level of alcohol consumption. "It's so readily available and pubs, off-licences and nightclubs will serve under-age kids. Parents need to know where their children are; how they spend their money and time; and whom they spend it with. It involves asking the awkward questions and putting up with the antagonism.
"You can't abdicate your role because you think it's 'cool' to be a 'nice' parent. You have a right to know what your child is up to. Clinical studies often talk about maturation taking place in the mid to late 20s. Children do not suddenly and miraculously mature into adults on their 18th birthday."
The project director of the alcohol programme with the Irish College of General Practitioners, Rolande Anderson, points out that a lot of children experiment with alcohol at the age of 13 or 14, but they are the exception rather than the rule. But "it's certainly the case that binge drinking can be linked to 15 year olds.
"I strongly believe the reason our young people are in trouble with drinking is because the whole nation is in trouble with drinking. If we just narrowly focus on young people, then we're missing the overall story and demonising young people unfairly."
Anderson adds: "On a practical level, if an adolescent is out of control with alcohol or drugs, then they are clearly at risk in terms of accidents and incidents. Go to your local A&E department any night and you will see young people being stitched up or treated for alcohol overdoses, unbeknownst to their parents."
The most damaging thing in relation to alcohol is the impact it has on the emotional growth of the adolescent. It basically retards emotional maturity and they become stuck in a cycle of addiction. "They rarely go to their GPs as they're generally pretty healthy. Often addiction-related problems don't become apparent until much later on. They lose interest in practically everything from school to sports. Their life-repertoire becomes narrowed and they focus on short-term relief or happiness."
He gives an example: "You have someone who wakes up in a state of distress, with nobody else around, disorientated and dehydrated. They'll have no concept of where they are or how they got there, having perhaps blacked out and passed out with no memory of what happened.
"They might feel very needy, ashamed, guilty and distressed and use alcohol to deaden the pain of their anguish. Very importantly, this 'temporary' period of alcohol-induced black depression can sometimes be linked to attempted suicide."
According to Anderson, parents can easily find themselves isolated, and think alcohol is a lesser evil than drugs. "They must stick together on this issue and make policies in conjunction with schools."
There's a lot of help available in the form of doctors, school or addiction counsellors. Very importantly, he adds, parents should stress to their child a crucial message. In short, that message should convey concern: "No matter what trouble you get into, you can call me. I'm more concerned for your safety and happiness than anything else."
He strongly recommends they postpone the introduction of alcohol for as long as possible. "Above all, take the time, or make the time to talk to your children."