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In this unprecedented time of COVID-19, we face a new reality of working and attending school at home. It is important to consider how to help your family make healthy decisions.
The Unified Prevention (UP!) Coalition of Doña Ana County and Wellness Alcohol Violence Education Program (WAVE) Rx offers parents and caregivers tips to help make home a safer and easier place for young people regarding alcohol.
Research from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) has shown that people who use alcohol before age 15 are six times more likely to become alcohol dependent than adults who begin drinking at age 21.
Evidence suggests that alcohol’s effects on memory and learning are much more severe in adolescents than in adults, according to the article “Alcohol’s Effects on the Adolescent Brain” by Susanne Hiller-Sturmhöfel, Ph.D., and H. Scott Swartzwelder, Ph.D.
UP! Coalition and WAVE Rx encourage parents and guardians to regularly take inventory of the alcohol they have in the home and keep it in a locked area.
Each year the UP! Coalition and WAVE Rx conduct surveys, including the New Mexico Community Survey (NMCS) and the Student Lifestyle Survey (SLS), to understand the nature and magnitude of youth alcohol, tobacco and other drug-use problems.
According the most recent NMCS, 14 percent of New Mexico State University (NMSU) students surveyed under the age of 21 reported obtaining alcohol from a parent or guardian. Similarly, 22 percent of 18-20 Doña Ana County community members reported obtaining alcohol from an adult family member.
Change is a stressful thing for anyone, and young people are no exception to the rule. Stress is often listed as a contributing factor to why young people start drinking, which is never a safe option.
It’s important to help those under the age of 21 develop coping skills and gain tools to handle stress and change in healthy ways. One place to find resources to help young people and adults develop coping skill is Positive Psychology www.positivepsychology.com/coping-skills-worksheets/.
For support in talking to young people about underage drinking: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)’s "Talk. They Hear You." app is an interactive game that helps you learn the do’s and don’ts of talking to kids about underage drinking (www.www.samhsa.gov/underage-drinking/mobile-application).
Alyssa Myrick is a Program Specialist with The Center for Health Innovation, New Mexico’s Public Health Institute. She is the lead coordinator for the local youth substance use/misuse prevention group, the Unified Prevention (UP!) Coalition.
