Why adolescents are at risk of misusing alcohol and gambling.
OBJECTIVE
The aim of the study was to explore the reasons for alcohol misuse and other risk-taking behaviours in adolescence.


METHODS
Narrative review.


RESULTS
Vulnerable adolescents make suboptimal addictive-related choices in the period of initiation of alcohol use and gambling, which is also a period of cognitive and brain development, and in health behaviours. Hyperactive response to rewards as well as possibly hypoactive responses to punishments combined with weaknesses in the abilities to regulate strong impulses results in greater risk of alcohol and gambling misuse.


CONCLUSIONS
Abnormal patterns of alcohol consumption (e.g. binge drinking) could dramatically reinforce this disequilibrium by enhancing salience for alcohol and associated information and compromising self-regulatory processes. There are some preventive and therapeutic cognitive training strategies that can strengthen willpower in adolescents.
Corresponding author: Psychological Medicine Laboratory, Faculty of Medicine, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), 4 place Van Gehuchten, 1020 Brussels, Belgium. xnoel@ulb.ac.be.
Xavier
X
Noël
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D020268:Alcohol-Induced Disorders, Nervous System / Q000517:prevention & control*; D000437:Alcoholism / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology*; D016739:Behavior, Addictive / Q000523:psychology*; D001925:Brain Damage, Chronic / Q000209:etiology* / Q000517:prevention & control; D002755:Choice Behavior; D005715:Gambling / Q000517:prevention & control / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D000297:Psychology, Adolescent; D012306:Risk; D012309:Risk-Taking