Alcohol & Adolescents, featuring John F. Kelly, PhD, ABPP

Did you know that 3 out of 4 addiction cases in the U.S. are alcohol addictions, and that kids who start drinking before age 15 are significantly more likely to develop an alcohol use disorder than those who wait? Alcohol causes more deaths each year than all other drugs combined, including around 5,000 deaths to children under age 21. Yet, culturally, we don’t tend to think of alcohol as a serious psychoactive drug that causes intoxication, toxicity, and addiction.

Today, Gene and Khadijah talk about alcohol, adolescents, and what parents should know. To help make sense of it all, they are joined by very special guest, Dr. John Kelly, program director for Mass General’s Recovery Research Institute. Dr. Kelly walks us through how alcohol exposure affects the developing teen brain, how it can lead to other negative health outcomes, including cancer, substance use trends during Covid, and signs to look for you in your child if you’re concerned.

Please tune in for this special episode. We hope that our conversation will help you to have yours.

Have a question about alcohol and adolescents? Write to us!

Media List

• John Kelly, PhD, ABPP (Recovery Research Institute)
• Tell Me No Lies (Anything But The Truth)
• In The News (MGH Clay Center)
• Impact: What is the impact of Addiction? (Recovery Research Institute)
• Five things you may not know about alcohol, the most commonly used drug in the world (Recovery Research Institute)
• Cannabis and the Teen Brain, featuring Jodi Gilman, PhD (MGH Clay Center)
• Percentage of adolescents reporting drug use decreased significantly in 2021 as Covid pandemic endured (Mirage.News)
• Alcohol use by college students falls during pandemic, but marijuana use increases (The Nation’s Health)
• Media Literacy and Mental Health, featuring Common Sense Media (MGH Clay Center)
• Another COVID-19 Fallout: Teens’ Happy Hour With Parents (Journal of the American Medical Association)
• There is life after addiction. Most people recover (NPR)
• Should My Child See a Therapist? (YouTube – MGH Clay Center)
• Pathways to Recovery (Recovery Research Institute)

Episode produced by Sara Rattigan

Music by Gene Beresin

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