Adolescence, broadly defined as the second decade of life, is the period of time during which many people begin to use alcohol and other drugs, and often do so heavily. According to the 2002 Monitoring the Future survey, roughly 30% of 12th graders reported drinking five or more drinks in a row in the two weeks before being surveyed (Johnston et al, 2003). This pattern of heavy, intermittent drinking is also prevalent among college students (White et al, 2002a) and young military personnel (Bray, 1996). While levels of alcohol use among adolescents remain high, the perceived risk associated with such use appears to be declining. From 1992 to 2002, the percentage of 12th graders perceiving "great risk of harm" associated with drinking four or five drinks per day, nearly everyday, dropped from 71% to 59% (Johnston et al, 2003). It does not appear that adolescent alcohol abuse is a problem that will soon disappear.
High levels of drinking among adolescents are particularly troubling given recent evidence that, in contrast to long-held assumptions, a tremendous amount of structural and functional brain development takes place during the teenage years (Geidd et al., 1999; for review see Spear, 2000;2002). Evidence is accruing that alcohol, and perhaps other drugs, impact brain function and behavior differently during adolescence than during adulthood. Further, preliminary data suggest that adolescents might be more vulnerable than adults to impairments following repeated alcohol exposure.
The purpose of this summary is to briefly discuss recent findings regarding adolescent substance use, adolescent brain development, and the impact of alcohol on adolescent behavior and brain function. .
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2. What is adolescence?.
Before delving into the research, it is important to attempt to define the stage of development that we casually refer to as adolescence. Adolescence is not a distinct stage.
