This document discusses several key points about underage drinking: 1) Underage drinking remains prevalent among affluent white teenagers according to surveys. 2) Over 1,700 college students die each year from alcohol-related incidents and many more are injured or victims of assault. 3) Starting alcohol use before age 15 makes one 5 times more likely to have alcohol problems and nearly half of early users become dependent. 4) Spending more time with kids, such as during family dinners, can help reduce underage drinking and substance abuse risks. Parental engagement is one of the most effective ways to influence teens.

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2. “Under‐age drinking remains stubbornly prevalent, especially among affluent white
teenagers. According to a 2003 survey by the Institute for Social Research at the University
of Michigan, 21 percent of white youths between 12 and 20 years old reported being
heavy drinkers, followed by American Indians (20 percent), Latinos (17 percent), blacks (10
percent) and Asians (8 percent).”
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/30/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/02Rdrinking.html?page
wanted=2&_r=1
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3. One recent government study estimated that 1,700 college students die each year
in alcohol‐related incidents, more than 599,000 are injured and more than 97,000
are victims of an alcohol‐fueled sexual assault or date rape.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/02/education/edlife/alcohol.html?_r=1&scp=8&sq=&st
=nyt
→ Kids are beginning to abuse alcohol earlier than you might think: Nearly 20% of eighth
graders have reported being drunk and 1 in 3 report having had alcohol in the last 30
dh t db i d k d1i 3 t h i h d l h l i th l t 30
days
→ Children who first use alcohol before age 15 are five times more likely to have alcohol
problems than those who start drinking after 21. According to the results of a national
survey of 43,093 adults, published yesterday in Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent
Medicine, 47 percent of those who begin drinking alcohol before the age of 14 become
p g g g
alcohol dependent at some time in their lives, compared with 9 percent of those who wait
at least until age 21.
→ Researchers have also associated drinking with early sexual activity as well as the
resulting unintended teen pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases
→ Alcohol causes more damage to the developing brains of teenagers than was previously
Alcohol causes more damage to the developing brains of teenagers than was previously
thought, injuring them significantly more than it does adult brains.
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4. Parents as ENABLERS of underage drinking by supplying alcohol to teens at home
g g y pp y g
(i.e. parties)
Parents as DENIALISTS who make the problem worse by thinking their kids don’t
drink or abuse other substances
Parents as FATALISTS who consider underage drinking inevitable (they feel
there’s nothing they can do about it, they’re hopeless)
Parents as ANTI‐ROLE MODELS who set a bad example through their own misuse
of alcohol or broken relationships with their kids
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5. Eighty‐two percent (82 percent) of parents say that teens' alcohol‐related risky behavior is
a problem in society today, including 56 percent who say that it is a big problem.
http://alcoholism.about.com/cs/teens/a/blcamy030715.htm
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7. The message is out there, through ad campaigns, the media, even legislation, and it is
reaching parents’ eyes and ears.
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8. The current campaign has done a great job at communicating the message that underage
drinking has lifetime repercussions, but falls short in the call to action.
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9. The current campaign directs parents to visit www.stopalcoholabuse.gov or call 1‐800‐729‐
6686. The website is about as boring and cumbersome as a government website can get…
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10. What can we DO to cause a real impact and empower parents? It doesn’t stop with the
message and goes into giving them tools to influence the ACTION we expect them to take.
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11. ‐ Almost half of teens and parents surveyed agree the best time to talk about
important things is during or right after dinner
‐ The impact of spending more time together is positive for the whole age range
(11‐17) but it’s even stronger in the younger part of the range (11‐13)
‐The impact of spending more time with kids goes beyond reducing underage
drinking, to things like improved academic performance and reduced abuse of
other substances (drugs and tobacco)
‐“One factor that does more to reduce teens’ substance abuse risk than almost any
other is parental engagement, and one of the simplest and most effective ways for
parents to be engaged in teens’ lives is by having frequent family dinners.” (Joseph
A. Califano, former US Secretary of Health and president of The National Center on
Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University)
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