Access and Public Awareness
Is alcohol easy or difficult for youth under 21 to obtain and where do underage drinkers get alcohol? A 2005 study of teenagers between 13 and 18 conducted by the American Medical Association (AMA) showed that:
- nearly half of teenagers surveyed reported having obtained alcohol;
- two out of three teenagers said it was easy to get alcohol from their homes without their parents knowing about it;
- one-third of teens reported it was easy to obtain alcohol from their own consenting parents;
- for teens who obtained alcohol in the past six months, parents have been the supplier an average of three times in a six-month period. *
*See American Medical Association. Teenage drinking: Key findings of Teenage Research Unlimited (TRU) survey of teenagers and Harris Interactive survey of parents. Office of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse, Chicago, IL, 2006
Underage Drinking Parties
Underage drinking parties are a primary avenue for underage drinking for high school and college students – and of high consumption of alcohol and binge drinking. The most common setting for drinking among high school seniors is a private home. High consumption (five or more drinks) is also associated with drinking in larger groups. Fortunately, research shows that interventions that modify the environments in which adolescents find themselves have an impact on alcohol consumption levels. “Policies aimed at increasing the liability of adults who provide alcohol to youth under 21 may help to reduce underage drinking. (Mayer, Forster, Murray, and Wagenaar 1998: 214; Hearst et al 2007.)
On the college level, parties are among the most common occasions for socializing and were the settings most associated with heavy drinking -- including house parties, outdoor parties, or fraternity/sorority parties. (Clapp, Shillington, and Segars 2000; Hearst et al 2007.) More importantly, results from youth focus groups show few believe serious legal consequences flow from underage drinking. (Jones-Webb, Toomey, Miner, Wagenaar, Wolfson, and Poon 1997.)
What should be done to reverse the prevalence of underage drinking parties and the serious consequences that result? One answer is adoption of laws that hold adults responsible for providing places for teen drinking and giving law enforcement the tools to best respond to illegal drinking. Youth under 21 should also receive appropriate sanctions for possession, consumption, purchase or attempt to purchase alcohol.
In Reducing Underage Drinking: A Collective Responsibility, The National Academy of Science’s Institute of Medicine indicated that local police should routinely respond to complaints from the public about noisy teenage parties and enter the premises when there is probable cause to suspect underage drinking is taking place, routinely check, as part of regular patrols, areas where teenage drinking parties are known to occur, and routinely cite underage drinkers and, if possible, the person who supplied the alcohol when underage drinking is observed at parties. The report also noted, “The prospect of liability for social host could send a powerful normative message to adults that providing alcohol to underage youth is unacceptable.”
Is the public supportive of social host laws? Academic studies of general underage drinking laws suggest that support is high. For example, 80% of respondents in a national study supported increased penalties for adults who illegally provide alcohol to youth under 21 and policies that require mandated training for owners and servers in alcohol establishments. (Wagenaar, Harwood, Toomey, Denk, and Zander 2000.)