So, research on adolescent development has shown us two important things. First one is that the brain is continuing to develop very quickly, all the way through your 20s into your 30s. The part of the brain that’s taking a little bit longer to catch up, is the part of the brain that would be involved in our inhibitions, and stopping us from doing things that are perhaps not very good for us. That takes the longest to develop.
Ironically, the part of the brain that’s developing very quickly is the part of the brain that likes taking risks, likes being rewarded, and doing fun things. So, with that knowledge of development, that’s why there is a cutoff for drinking, because we need to respect the fact that when you start and you’re having fun with alcohol – it’s really difficult to stop at that age.
The second thing that this research has shown us is that adolescents when taking risks, or young people when taking risks, are much more affected by the presence of their peers – so you can think about peer pressure, and peer influence – and they’re much more affected by their peers. So, if we accept that with the development of the brains of young people, that the part that would stop them drinking too much is underdeveloped, and the part that wants to drink a lot is overdeveloped, and then you add in the fact that all of the teenage brains are the same way, and then you add the fact that they really influence each other at that age – you can end up with catastrophe.
