PARENTS OF TEENS:
Parents & Community Risks
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Teenagers aren’t the only ones jeopardized by underage drinking. Parents and other members of the community can also be affected.10
Risks to Parents
Legal liability for being the Property Owner or Social Host
In some locales, property owners are legally responsible for underage drinking on their premises. Whether or not you personally handed alcohol to teens, you could be on the hook for any harm or crashes that result from drinking on your property.
Learn more about the rules. 5
Bailing Out A Child
When teens drink they do dumb things and break the law, parents can find themselves tangled up in court proceedings and financially liable.
Similarly, if your teen engages in risky sexual behavior and winds up with an unintended pregnancy, you might even find yourself parenting a grandchild.
Risks to the Community
Drunk Driving
When teens drive with other teens, fatal car crashes increase2,5 and the risk doubles at night.5 Add alcohol to the mix, and you’ve got a dangerous situation for everyone on the road. 13
Campus Hazards
Underage drinking is common at colleges, particularly those with student housing. That means campus areas can have increased risk of car crashes, fights, and sexual assaults.
Impaired Military Forces
Young members of the Army, Marine, Air Force, and Navy face a culture that may pressure them to drink before the age of 21. Intoxicated and impaired military forces pose a danger to themselves, the community, and the nation they serve.
Learn more:
- Underage drinking poses many health risks
- Drinking teens face other problems, too
- Is your teen drinking? Warning signs
- Steps to take at home
- Steps your community can take
CLICK HERE FOR REFERENCES
1. Alcohol Policy Information System, “Highlight on Underage Drinking” Read more
2. Compton, Richard P. and Patricia Ellison-Potter. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Report No. DOT HS 811005. July 2008. Read more
3. Hingson, Ralph W. and Wenxing Zha. “Age of Drinking Onset, Alcohol Use Disorders, Frequent Heavy Drinking, and Unintentionally Injuring Oneself and Others After Drinking” Pediatrics Vol. 123 No. 6 June 2009, pp. 1477-1484 (Published online May 26, 2009) Read more
4. Hingson, Ralph W. et al. “Age of Alcohol-Dependence Onset: Associations With Severity of Dependence and Seeking Treatment.” Pediatrics 2006; 118;e755-e763.
5. Insurance Institute for Highway Safety and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. “Beginning Teenage Drivers.” Read more
6. Miller et al. “Binge Drinking and Associated Health Risk Behaviors Among High School Students,” Pediatrics (2007) 119:1. Read more
7. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), Underage Drinking Research Initiative: Alcohol and the Developing Adolescent Brain. Read more
8. National Institutes of Health alcohol policy website. Read more
9. National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), Alcohol Alert #67. Read more
10. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, The Surgeon General’s Call to Action to Prevent and Reduce Underage Drinking 2007. Read more
11. Van Voorhees, Benjamin W. “Drug abuse and dependence” Medline Plus. Read more
12. Windle, M. et al. “Alcohol use, suicidal behavior, and risky activities among adolescents. J Res Adolesc. 1992; 2:317-330.
13. Zador P.L., Krawchuk S.A., Voas R.B. “Relative Risk of Fatal and Crash Involvement by BAC, Age and Gender.” National Highway Traffic Safety Administration DOT HS 809 050, April 2000. Read more
