[Alcohol misuse in adolescents - a challenge for general practitioners]

The recreational use of alcohol constitutes for most adolescents a normal step in the exploration of new products and sensations. Alcohol misuse, also referred to as problematic use, is a mode of use with potential short or long-term harmful effects on physical and mental health. Misuse can be defined in several ways, using criteria such as getting severely drunk more than twice in one's life, driving while drunk and engaging often in binge drinking (consumption of more than 5-6 drinks in a row). The short term consequences of alcohol misuse include, among others, violence and injuries, unprotected sexual encounters as well as social and financial problems. Any consultation with an adolescent is an occasion to screen for problematic use of psychoactive substances, including alcohol. The paper provides a short set of questions available to do so. Adolescents who misuse alcohol should be offered brief motivational interventions focusing on risk reduction. Those more severely affected can benefit from a psychotherapeutic approach, involving the parents at any stage; this measure must usually be accompanied by a modification of the environment, with a special emphasis on school and vocational issues.