WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT ALCOHOL USE BY TEENS—

A SUMMARY OF DAVIS HIGH PTA AND DAVIS POLICE DEPARTMENT’S PARENT EDUCATION PRESENTATION

APRIL 2, 2008

The April 2, 2008 presentation was a follow up to one held last spring addressing substance abuse by teens.  The PTA parent education committee and Davis Police Department chose to focus on alcohol in order to challenge the notion held by many adults that we need not worry about a little drinking by our teens.

Trease Petersen, Davis Police Youth Services Officer, and Susan Hawkins, Davis High School Nurse, spoke about what they have learned from the students they meet with in the youth diversion programs available to keep first time offenders, ages11-17, out of the courts.  In her diversion class, INSIGHT, Hawkins asks the students why they drink. Responses include “I’m bored.” “All my friends drink.” “It’s fun.” “My parents drank at my age.” “My parents don’t care if I drink as long as I don’t smoke pot or use drugs.” “My parents let me and my friends drink at home as long as we don’t drive.” Other responses include divorce, death, anxiety, depression, and stress. Hawkins notes that alcohol is a depressant and may actually precipitate stress and depression.

Hawkins and Petersen urged parents to be aware of the signs of alcohol use by students: mood swings, secrecy, attitude, and appearance changes. Since these can be part of normal teen repertoire, Hawkins and Petersen strongly emphasized knowing your child’s friends and families and knowing the who, what, where, why, and how of your child’s activities. In addition, at home drug testing is an option for parents. Petersen and Hawkins noted the knowing that they will be tested gives kids a reason to say “no” when in risky alcohol situations. Thus, drug testing can be a deterrent. $2 alcohol kits and $6 drug kits are available from the Davis Police Department. Petersen noted that the Davis High School student newspaper, the Hub, printed a student editorial entitled “Parents have a right to test their kids for drugs.”

Teen alcohol use is often accompanied by other criminal behavior.  Other crimes may include hate crimes, sex assaults, shoplifting, burglaries, and drunk driving.  Many students steal alcohol.  Depending on the value of the alcohol stolen and other circumstances, this crime may be a felony.  However, most students obtain alcohol from home. Petersen and Hawkins encouraged parents to keep alcohol locked up and to closely monitor any refrigerated alcohol. However, a new dangerous way of obtaining alcohol is occurring: students ‘befriend’ a homeless person for whom they buy lunch so that this adult will buy the minors alcohol. Additionally, parents need to be aware that patterns indicate that if a student is drinking once a month, there is a 50% chance that marijuana is also being used.

Michael Wilkes, M.D., UC Davis Adolescent Medicine, addressed the effects of alcohol on the adolescent brain. Wilkes emphasized that the adolescent brain is growing until the mid 20’s and that alcohol interferes with this growth. Unfortunately, there has been no consistent downward trend in teen alcohol use over the past 20 years. Wilkes noted that influences on student alcohol use include family alcohol behaviors and genetics, social marketing, social and peer pressure. Teens often tend to be risk takers, and risky behavior secretes dopamine, a hormone that causes exhilaration.

Dr. Wilkes noted that experimentation with alcohol may be a part of teens’ overall desire to take risks and their lack of judgment.  The frontal cortex is in charge of planning, strategizing, and judgment, aka the “CEO” of the brain; it is the last part of the brain to develop. Teens have difficulty thinking through the consequences of behavior. They can’t learn from experience until the brain structures are fully developed. Thus, parents must function as the frontal lobe for their teens and be active in helping the teens manage stress, anxiety, and depression. Wilkes noted that the greatest risk factor for drug use and teen suicide is the teen that has an alternative sexual lifestyle, and he urged parents to carefully monitor and support these teens.

Davis Police Sergeants Scott Smith and Frank Tenedora noted that it is illegal for minors to consume alcohol. Zero is the legal alcohol blood level for those under 21. The good news is there has been more awareness in Davis about alcohol use.  The Davis bars no longer have the “21” birthday card in which a new 21 year old could write in the 21 drinks consumed on his/her birthday. The death of a UCD student as a result of this practice caused all bars to discourage this type of celebration. In addition, there is more awareness about the dangers of drinking and driving and using a “designated driver.” However, the officers noted that Davis teens often define “designated driver” as the one who has drunk the least, not the one who has abstained.

The officers urged parents to be aware of their children’s friends and to not assume that sleepovers and parties are occurring where the students’ say they are happening. Check up with hosting parents; get to know your kids’ friends and their parents. Call police if there is evidence of alcohol parties noticed in public parks and green spaces so that the beat officers assigned to that area of the city can be aware and investigate.

Finally, to conclude the evening PTA 2^nd vice president Cathy Farman announced that the PTA had adopted the principles of the public information campaign—“Parents Who Host Lose the Most.”  This campaign emphasizes the responsibility of adults to be strong advocates of a zero tolerance for alcohol use.  The adults in this community need to be on the same page as far as what we expect from the other adults in this community.  The facts are—teen drinking is common, it does cause harm to the developing brain, it sets a teen up for addiction, and it is a crime.  There are adults in this community who are making decisions about other people’s children—a decision to let a teen spend the night at their house so their parents don’t find out they drank, a decision not to monitor the alcohol in the house, a decision to allow drinking as long as no one is driving.  Farman challenged the adults in the community—it is not just about making your expectations clear to your teen, you also need to make your expectations clear to other adults.  And if enough of us do it, maybe we can change the common acceptance of drinking by teens as normal and okay.