How to deal with a generation that drinks to get drunk

Marina, 14 years old, has a beer every week with her friends at a bar near the traditional private school in São Paulo where she studies – despite her age, she has never had a problem buying the drink. Gabriel, 16 years old, from Porto Alegre, does “warm ups” washed down with a lot of vodka before going to parties. The boy finds it amusing to see himself and his friends reeling – not infrequently, the records go viral on social networks. Flávia, 14, drank at a school party in Campo Grande (MS) and blacked out – she says she doesn’t remember anything. Her parents only found out about the episode because she ended up in the emergency room.

The stories of these teenagers are far from being isolated cases and show a complex and dangerous panorama. According to a survey carried out by the National Institute of Public Policies on Alcohol and Drugs (Inpad), linked to the Federal University of São Paulo (Unifesp), about 50% of brazilians aged between 12 and 17 have already drunk🇧🇷 The pattern of consumption, compulsive and periodic, interspersed with periods of abstinence and heavy drinking, is of concern. Among girls, there was also an increase in excessive drinking – five drinks or more on the same occasion. The number has almost doubled in six years. It is drinking to get drunk, a behavior known by the term in English binge🇧🇷

Read more: How can I protect my child from alcohol?

Loose legislation, associated with cultural changes, helps to explain the phenomenon. “In Brazil, unlike other countries, you don’t need a specific license to sell alcohol, which is sold in every bakery. Furthermore, anyone can fill up a styrofoam container and sell it to teenagers without any supervision”, says Clarice Sandi Madruga, a Unifesp professor and research coordinator. “The advertising aimed at young people is intense, in channels frequented by them, such as social networks, and shows drinking as something liberating.” The advertising appeal is even more seductive for girls, eager to enter previously exclusively male strongholds. Not by chance, the hashtag #belarecatadaedolar, which took over social networks in 2016, won the version cool #beladesbocadaedobar.

Read more: Alcoholism is increasingly common among women

Alongside the lack of supervision, the association of the act of drinking with experiences considered positive, such as feeling less shy, funnier or more fun, and being successful in finding partners. All under the influence of family habits, the group of friends, personality traits, such as rebelliousness and low adherence to rules, and even psychological disorders, such as anxiety and depression.

Adolescence still brings an aggravating factor of neuroanatomical origin: the I like to take risks and test limits🇧🇷 A young person’s brain is still developing – the reward circuit, associated with pleasure, forms during pregnancy, but the prefrontal cortex, responsible for planning, reasoning and impulse control, is the last part to mature, around of 21 years old. “With developing decision-making areas, young people demonstrate tendency to impulsiveness and doubtful judgment to judge situations that offer risk. In practice, they act before thinking”, says Sérgio de Paula Ramos, a psychiatrist and psychoanalyst with 40 years of experience in the treatment of chemical dependencies.

Read more: Dangers in the club: information about alcohol and drugs for parents of teenagers

always attentive

“My son drank for the first time when he was 13, at a classmate’s party. To meet a whim of the boy, the birthday boy’s parents released a ‘weak’ drink, a kind of punch. That was enough for my son to overdo it and feel sick: I wasn’t used to it and I didn’t know when to stop🇧🇷 Where have you seen alcohol served at teenage parties? I was disgusted, because I thought that, in the house of friends, he would be protected. I called the friend’s father demanding clarification for his irresponsibility, and the matter grew, involving the school and other families and creating enmity. Since then, we have reinforced our attention. Today, it seems that non-drinking teen events are no fun. Advertising doesn’t help, beer brands sponsor parties… We try to show that there is an appropriate age for drinking and that it is possible to drink moderately, not to get intoxicated. But I doubt if it works. Today, my son is 15 years old and he knows he cannot drink, but I suspect he transgresses from time to time. We are permanently on the lookout.” Julia Andrade, businesswoman, from Salvador

Read more: According to science, there is no safe level of alcohol consumption – especially for women

Far beyond drunkenness

In isolation, exaggerating in alcoholic beverages increases the risk of engaging in unprotected sexual activities and, consequently, exposure to diseases and early pregnancy. It also increases the chance of sexual abuse for both the victim and the perpetrator. The risk of accidents, especially car accidents, reaches alarming levels.

Frequent use of alcohol in adolescence still produces long-term damage. It is associated with a drop in school performance, as it can have effects on memory and attention. An American survey found that young people with a history of alcohol consumption had more difficulty remembering words and geometric designs after a ten-minute break compared to those who did not drink. “The substance acts by altering the integrity of the myelin sheath, the electrical insulator that protects neurons. Simply speaking, it’s like a wire that, when it is exposed, runs the risk of short-circuiting”, says Arthur Guerra de Andrade, coordinator of the Interdisciplinary Program of Alcohol and Drug Studies, linked to the Faculty of Medicine of the University of São Paulo (USP), and founder of the Health and Alcohol Information Center (cisa.org.br).

Read more: Know the risks of using attention deficit medicine to turbocharge the brain

Studies around the world show that the early alcohol use is associated with health problems in later life, in addition to significantly increasing the risk of dependence and use of other drugs. According to the US National Institute on Drug Abuse, 15% of those who start drinking with some frequency before the age of 15 can become alcoholics, while the rate is 2% among those who wait until at least 21 years🇧🇷 Experts are categorical in stating that there is no safe dose for alcohol consumption by adolescents. (By the way, it is worth remembering that, in any age group, excessive drinking is not good for anyone.)

In Brazil, legally, they can only drink from the age of 18 – the sale and supply before that constitutes a crime since 2015, with Law 13.106. Therefore, parents and guardians need to face the problem seriously and try to combat the early use of alcohol. The first step is recognize the seriousness of the issue and stay alert. The attitudes and postures of each family are decisive for the acquisition of the habit from an early age, as well as in various dimensions of the individual’s life.

Read more: How to deal with rebellious behavior in teenagers

It is the so-called parenting style, divided into four strands: authoritarian, permissive, negligent and authoritative🇧🇷 Parents whose style is authoritarian make many demands, restrict autonomy and communication, imposing their point of view, rules and punishments in an arbitrary way. Those with a permissive profile set few rules and tolerate the impulses of the offspring. Negligents don’t demand responsibility, but neither do they encourage autonomy. They are indifferent, self-centered and resort to punishment. Those with an authoritative profile value adherence to rules as much as autonomy. They encourage the exchange of ideas and share the reason for the restrictions – when the child does not obey, they ask him to explain the reason. “The children of parents with this profile consume half the amount of alcohol and drugs than those of others”, says Ramos.

The condescension of parents who define themselves as their children’s best friends explains why so many families give in to teenagers’ pleas when they ask for alcohol parties. “Authoritative parents, on the contrary, resist the ‘everybody’ argument and know how to say ‘no’. They make arrangements in a serious and assertive way, explaining why the child should not drink. They justify the ban by talking about the law and health risks”, says Helena Barros, professor at the Federal University of Health Sciences in Porto Alegre (UFCSPA) and coordinator of Ligue 132, a free and confidential service that offers guidance on drugs. “One of the pillars of the program is to train authoritative parents. Unfortunately, families are not ready to think about prevention and end up calling when the situation is already very complicated, ”she says. A reminder from Barros: it’s hard to go back if you’ve already allowed booze.

Read more: Teens and drugs: learn how to approach the subject with your children

defined limits

“The influence of the group is great. Why wouldn’t our kids want to drink if their friends drink? When my daughter, now 26, was 16, we picked her up from a party at the club and found a horrible scene: about 50 teenagers lying down, many of them vomiting, waiting for their parents in the office. Experiences like this helped me with my boy, now 17. When he leaves, I hit the button: ‘Are you going to want to miss the party?’, ‘Are you going to make a fool of yourself?’. It’s important to meet friends, take them and pick them up, show care, listen to what they have to say and encourage exchanges. The other day, he came to tell me about an open bar party at a friend’s house. I reacted: ‘What do you mean? You are 17 years old!’ Fortunately, he ended up giving up because he’s in a healthy phase and didn’t want to miss the gym the next day. I took advantage: ‘You’re right, alcohol does away with resistance, you won’t be willing to exercise. What’s the use of living on eggs and brown rice and drinking? How about we go out that day for sushi?’. He accepted. I can’t stop him from drinking, but I must help him know his limits.🇧🇷 Jaqueline, PR, from Porto Alegre

Read more: Experts reveal how to raise an independent and happy only child

From the door to the inside

The South and Midwest concentrate the highest consumption rates among students in the 9th grade of elementary school, according to a survey by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE), released in 2016. And Porto Alegre is the capital with the most early drinkers. Each family should set its own rules, and being clear about them is helpful, but even careful parents are not safe.

Human resources director Sônia, from Porto Alegre, has an agreement with her children, a 16-year-old girl and a 19-year-old boy: drinking, only after the age of 18. That didn’t spare her from dealing with her daughter getting drunk. “Alcohol is at every party. Any family is susceptible. So, we need to close the fence”, says she, who, with other officials, filed a lawsuit with the Public Ministry of Rio Grande do Sul claiming actions to prevent and combat alcohol consumption…