Going on a binge with benefits

When O'Connor High School senior Andrea Guerrero, 17, attended an underage drinking party in a local hotel room in October 2009, she had grown used to the drinking scene.

Guerrero joined teens and young adults between the ages of 15 and 21 with the intent to get drunk and get drunk fast.

But, like many American teens today, Guerrero grew bored of the typical beer served at parties. She left the hotel and went home to have a shot of José Cuervo with her mother. After her mother left, however, Guerrero took advantage of house rules and could not resist the temptation.

"One shot led to another," Guerrero said. "It was five, and five then led to 12."

In an instant, the consequences of binge drinking, in which young adults consume excessive amounts of alcohol in a short period of time, had taken effect. A 2008 study showed that 43.6 percent of enrolled college students binge drink.

When her mother walked in the door, Guerrero started vomiting, and her mother began to panic. Guerrero became terribly ill. With her daughter on the floor, uncontrollably vomiting, Joan Guerrero, had no other choice than to call her best friend, a doctor, for help.

They put the teen in a cold shower and waited for the effects of alcohol poisoning to wear off.

A single mother, Joan Guerrero believes in teaching her daughter how to drink responsibly by drinking with her, but she never imagined the situation could get so dangerous.

"It was horrible," she said. "That was the first time I had seen her like that. My first reaction was to take care of her, of course. But it was a very scary moment."

Alcohol researchers are finding increased significance in the role parents play in their children's drinking behaviors. In the current issue of Addictive Behaviors, an international scientific journal publishing human research on substance abuse, Caitlin Abar, an alcohol researcher and professor at Pennsylvania State University, found teens whose parents established strict rules on underage drinking are less likely to drink copiously in college.

Abar's research consisted of a survey of about 300 college freshmen and compared their drinking habits with their parent's tolerance for underage drinking in high school. Abar suggested that a zero-tolerance policy is the best strategy to protect teens as research showed that parents who objected to underage drinking have children who do not drink heavily in college.

Guerrero said she knew her daughter was going to drink, but she preferred she drank with her and set a limit.

"I don't know how else to prevent it," she said.

After Guerrero's alcohol poisoning, she was grounded for a month, including her cell phone, computer, alcohol, parties and friends. But her mother takes part of the blame.

"I shouldn't have had parties with me drinking while she was growing up," she said. "She went way overboard. I'm just glad she was at home. It made her understand how it could have been if she was somewhere else or if she got in the car of someone who was drinking."

Mothers Against Drunk Driving, an international organization with the intent to stop drunken driving and prevent underage drinking, has conducted studies that suggest parents need to take greater precautions when it comes to their children's underage drinking habits.

Jennifer Northway, executive director for Mothers Against Drunk Driving for South Texas, said parents should begin speaking to children about alcohol as early as the fourth grade and set up healthy boundaries.

"You can't blame the youth solely on the underage drinking problem," Northway said. "Our kids model the behavior that we exhibit. We really want to encourage parents to take a step back and think about how they might be conveying alcohol use in their own home."

About two years ago, MADD adopted an extension called Power of Parents to provide research-proven strategies to parents for preventing underage drinking at home and in their community. According to MADD, 74 percent of teens and young adults ages 8-17 said their parents are the leading influence on their decision-making concerning alcohol.

"Our kids can't live up to their fullest potential if we don't take the tough stand and make sure that they're safe," Northway said. "You have to have open dialogue and good communication about the things that they're experiencing, but at times, you've got to stay firm to the boundaries you place on your child and the expectations you place on your child."

More than a year after her alcohol poisoning, Andrea Guerrero carries a healthier relationship with her mother.

Joan Guerrero said her daughter calls and texts her when she's at parties, respects her curfew, and they talk about alcohol abuse more often.

"As of that day, I let out everything," Guerrero said. "We're closer — almost like sisters — so we gained a new relationship. I'm just more careful now. You've got to be careful because one day it could be you, and you never know what you could lose."