Galery

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Greek teenagers, aged between 14 and 18 years, drink a lot, as shown by the data of a European study that ranks Greece third after Denmark and the UK in this indicator, the Greek newspaper To Vima reports.

They ‘become friends’ with alcohol at the age of 12-13, starting with beer or wine, and at the age of 14-15 they already prefer stronger drinks such as vodka, gin, whiskey and tequila. Boys are bigger fans of alcohol but the difference in their number with that of girls is very small.

According to child psychiatrist and family therapist Frida Konstandopoulou, drinking and the excessive use of alcohol at this very early age is a serious problem throughout the developed world. From her experience as an associate to the Centre for Control and Prevention of Infectious Diseases and the network of doctors, volunteers, against tobacco and alcohol dependence "Ouranos" ("Heaven"), she specifies the following factors that predispose to the phenomenon:

- The use of alcohol attracts the majority of teenagers and reflects their curiosity about life and the behaviour of people after the age of maturity. Imitation of the people from the family environment or other adults, examples of behaviour, is the main reason for the use of alcoholic beverages.

- Alcohol and cigarettes are the common code of conduct among same age persons when they want to feel part of the groups in which they participate.

-Unlike smoking, ads present alcohol use in an attractive way for children, not indicating the negative consequences at the same time.

Genes also play a role. In children with one or more first-degree relatives who have had problems with alcoholism, the risk of alcohol abuse is three to five times higher.

There are, however, psychological factors too, for example:

- The factors of the family environment that predispose to alcohol use include negative events, such as financial problems, poor family relationships or divorce of parents, the presence of a disease or death in the family, and of a parent, who is alcoholic.

- Abnormal behaviour such as lack of attention - hyperactivity, depression, post-traumatic stress disorder syndrome, anxiety disorders, phobias and more are strong risk factors in the use and abuse of alcohol. Initially, alcohol seems to "improve" the symptoms but subsequently it dramatically aggravates some of them.

Teenagers drink together with friends, in smaller or larger groups of peers, when they go out during the weekend or gather at the homes of friends when their parents are absent. Children rarely consume alcohol when they are alone. "Over recent years it has been an alarming fact that children feel the need to get drunk when they go out in the evening. Indicative of this is that 67% of teenagers aged 14-18 years have been drunk at least once and 51% had got drunk in the past month," said Konstandopoulou.

The dangers of alcohol abuse in teenagers include the following:

- Antisocial behaviour (introversion, emotional withdrawal, insincerity, lack of control).

- Impulsive and risk behaviour (agitation, reduction of the critical ability, amnesia, low sensitivity, unprotected sex, use of other toxic substances, increased morbidity and mortality). Significantly, alcohol contributes to 25-50% of teenage accidents, murders and suicides.

- Long-term frequent use of alcohol can damage organs such as the heart, liver and brain. Especially in teenagers, when the brain continues to develop, alcohol causes significant damage to the section around the hippocampus and the prefrontal lobe. The result is reduced capacity for remembering and learning, decision making and consideration.

What a teenager who uses alcohol looks like:

- He or she becomes increasingly irritable, reacts violently and expresses disobedience, especially to family members.

- He or she becomes indifferent to his or her school duties and his or her marks are poor.

- He or she avoids his or her groups of friends, seeks for other friends to drink with and usually refuses to introduce them to his or her family.

- Symptoms of severe anxiety and depression appear that usually hide behind apparent passivity and indifference.

- He or she quickly becomes exhausted and is prone to diseases.

According to experts, the "key" to successfully deal with the problem is in the family. "We must strive to be good examples for our children at all levels and be close to them, especially in the difficult age of puberty, not with continuous criticism, punishment and bans but with dialogues, discussion and understanding," Konstandopoulou advises.