The most widely used psychoactive substance, caffeine, is easily obtained, socially acceptable, and legal for adolescents to purchase and consume. Indeed, adolescents now regularly consume caffeinated drinks. On average, 12–17-year-olds daily consume slightly less than the caffeine contained in one cup of coffee (Frary et al. 2005). Although caffeine is used widely, our understanding of its effects tends to have focused on animals and adults. Still, research that has examined the consumption and effects of caffeine on adolescents does provide with important insights. Although research may remain tentative, our understanding of adolescent development suggests that caffeine may have benefits when moderately consumed by adolescents but that adolescents may be particularly vulnerable to its negative effects.
Although a psychoactive substance, caffeine is assumed safe and marketed in ways that avoid its being regulated as a drug. Caffeine is produced by a variety of beans, leaves, and...
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Levesque, R.J.R. (2018). Caffeine Use. In: Levesque, R.J.R. (eds) Encyclopedia of Adolescence. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-33228-4_344
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