Would a Lower Drinking Age Solve the Underage Drinking Problem
There is a perception in America that the cause of underage binge drinking is the drinking age. The perception continues that the Europeans do not have the problems with underage binge drinking on par with American youth because the Europeans have “taught” their youth to drink from an early age, and they don’t hold alcohol out as the forbidden fruit by making youth wait until age 21 to legally drink. But the ESPAD Survey shows otherwise.
15-16 Year Olds Underage Drinking Patterns in 36 European Countries
The perception is that a lower drinking age will reduce underage drinking. The 2011 ESPAD Survey results prove otherwise.
Every four years since 1995, drinking patterns of students ages 15-16 in European countries have been surveyed as part of The European School Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD). The latest survey report (2011, reported in 2012) is based on data from more than 100,000 students in 36 European countries. Quoting from page 11 of the 2011 ESPAD Survey,
“Another way of measuring drunkenness is to ask how often the students had consumed five drinks or more on the same occasion during the past 30 days. This measure of “heavy episodic drinking” has undergone one of the most striking changes among girls across the ESPAD waves, with the aggregate-level average increasing from 29% in 1995 to 41% in 2007. In the 2011 survey, however, this figure has dropped to 38%. Among boys, the figure is also slightly lower in 2011 (43%) than it was in 2007 (45%) and thus also relatively close to the 1995 figure (41%).”
As this ESPAD Survey shows, lowering the drinking age is not the solution to reducing underage binge drinking.
Talking to Youth About Drinking
As a parent myself, I fully appreciate how difficult it is to talk about drinking with teens. As a speaker to student groups on substance abuse and other brain-changing related topics, students report that my use of 21st century brain science as the basis of my substance abuse prevention presentations makes a difference. Similarly, parents and adults working with youth on substance abuse prevention also tell me that using the science makes these sorts of conversations easier and more effective.
To help you with your own conversations, below are links to previous posts that share some of these ideas:
A Different Kind of Conversation About Underage Drinking
Underage Drinking – 5 Things Parent Should Consider to Keep the Message Clear
Give Their Brains a Break – Underage Drinking Prevention
Lisa Frederiksen
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The true problem is parenting. Parents are uncomfortable disciplining their teens. Teens are masters of manipulation. The issue lies in following the rules. 21 is the drinking age…period. Instead of rationalizing that we should expose kids to alcohol prior to age 21 so that they learn to drink in moderation, or handle it, why don’t we simply respect the lawmakers and scientists that set the rules. Additionally, teens will turn the “you let me have a glass of wine at dinner” argument into approval of underage drinking; thus we’ve lowered the bar and can’t deny that we allowed it. Finally…what about addiction? Introducing a potential addict to their drug of choice at an early age is extremely dangerous.
All excellent points, Marie!! Thanks so much for sharing!