Skip to main content
Home

Main navigation

  • Top stories
  • Health
  • Crime
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Tech
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • Weird
  • 1-1-2
Image
800px-Cup_of_cider_and_bottle_and_glass_of_beer
- Credit: Picture: Wikimedia Commons/Clayton Parker
Health
Addiction
adolescent drinking
alcohol
concentration
impulse control
memory
Sarai Boelema
State Secretary Martin van Rijn
study on adolescent alcohol use
Utrecht
Wednesday, 3 December 2014 - 11:58
Share this:
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • linkedin
  • whatsapp
  • reddit

Alcohol's impact on teen brains limited: Utrecht PhD

According to a new study, there is no evidence that young people will perform worse because of alcohol use. A long-term study of 2,230 Dutch adolescents shows that drinkers perform no worse than non-drinkers when it comes to memory, impulse control and concentration. The Utrecht neuro-psychologist Sarai Boelema, who will receive her PhD on this study on Friday, realizes that the results may come as a surprise. "It is frequently warned that the adolescent brain is particularly vulnerable to alcohol, but there is little research on this. The studies that doe exist, do not point unequivocally in the same direction." Now for the first time Boelema followed a large group of young people who represent a cross section of the population. "The view is mainly based on research into alcohol addicted adolescents. The cognitive damage that can yield is wrongly generalized. Moreover, addicts often have psychological issues. This can possibly explain their poor cognitive performance." Virtually all existing studies compare problem drinkers with non-drinkers. According to Boelema, the fact that those drinkers function worse does not say much. "It is unclear whether that is the cause or the effect of the alcohol." State Secretary of Health Martin van Rijn responded critically to the study. "That alcohol is bad for children stands as a pole above water. Opposite this study are numerous studies on the damage caused by alcohol in unborn children, by binge drinking, in children and the relationship with behavioral problems", he says. "I shall continue to put effort into further reducing the use of alcohol among young people." Van Rijn added that this topic deserves continued attention and new research. The researchers tested 2,230 young people on their 11th and 19th. The divided the into six groups ranging from non-drinkers to heavy drinkers. The "heavy" drinkers drank six or more glasses of alcohol on one occasion at least once a week for four years. The average was about 15 glasses per week. Alcohol gave no increased risk of abnormalities in cognitive function, says Boelema. "Not even in heavy drinkers." Even more complex tests which test problem solving abilities, showed no difference.

Follow us:

Latest stories

  • Media tycoon John de Mol’s Talpa misses financial reporting deadline
  • European office to gather proof of war crimes in Ukraine will set up in The Hague
  • Schiphol security finds knife concealed as passenger’s belt buckle
  • "Worrisome" decrease in student housing supply as rents increase 10%
  • Trade union announces more civil servants' strikes, including in The Hague
  • Nine suspects arrested in Netherlands for 50 ATM bombings in Germany

Top stories

  • European office to gather proof of war crimes in Ukraine will set up in The Hague
  • Nine suspects arrested in Netherlands for 50 ATM bombings in Germany
  • Amsterdam to ban some tour buses from city center from 2024
  • Police missed many signals in run-up to attorney, crime journalist's murders: report
  • Public transport strike: No trains running in Friesland, part of Groningen
  • Dutch mad cow disease case concerns variant that is less dangerous for humans

© 2012-2023, NL Times, All rights reserved.

Footer menu

  • Privacy
  • Contact
  • Partner content