BOSTON, MA — Despite the national 21-year minimum drinking age law,
underaged drinking is pervasive on college campuses, according to a new study
released today by the Harvard School of Public Health College Alcohol Study. Two
in three (63 percent) underage students reported drinking in the past 30 days. These
students pay less per drink than of-age students and, though they drink less
frequently, drink more per occasion than older students.
"In these college settings, where about one half of students are under age 21, regular
use and abuse of alcohol is part of many studentsâ environments," said Henry
Wechsler, PhD, lead author of the study and Director of College Alcohol Studies at
the Harvard School of Public Health.
Wechsler and his colleagues on the study surveyed approximately 7,000 college
students under the age of 21 and approximately 5,000 students aged 21-23 about
their drinking patterns. The results appear in the July issue of the American Journal
of Preventive Medicine. The Substance Abuse Policy Research Program of The
Robert Wood Johnson Foundation funded the study.
The underage students surveyed, most of whom reported that it was ãeasyä or ãvery
easyä to obtain alcohol, were more likely to obtain alcohol inexpensively and more
likely to drink in private settings such as dorms and fraternity parties.
More than half (57 percent) of underage students who drank reported that they paid
less than one dollar for a drink, got it free, or paid a set price for an unlimited number
of drinks compared to 15 percent of students 21 to 23 years of age. ãEasily
obtainable cheap alcohol, especially beer, fuels binge drinking for underage college
students,ä Wechsler said.
Underage college students drink less frequently: 63 percent of the underage students
reported drinking in the past 30 days compared with 74 percent of the of-age
students. However, underage students drink more per occasion than older students:
42 percent had five-or-more drinks compared with 27 percent of the older students,
the researchers found.
Underage students were also significantly more likely to experience alcohol-related
problems, such as engaging in unplanned sexual activity, damaging property, injuring
themselves, getting into trouble with police, being treated for alcohol overdose, doing
something they later regretted, or forgetting their actions, according to the study.
One alcohol-related problem not associated with underaged students was driving
while intoxicated. Students under 21 were half as likely as of-age students to drive
after drinking. ãThis may be related to zero-tolerance drunk driving laws aimed at
underaged drinkers,ä said Wechsler.
In addition to stricter enforcement of the drinking-age law at bars, the researchers
suggest targeting happy hours, alcohol promotions, and the sale of beer in kegs.
ãAreas near college campuses are characterized by a high density of alcohol outlets,
intense competition for customers, and high-volume, reduced-price sales,ä said
Wechsler.
The practice -- common in fraternities and other campus groups -- of charging an
admission fee entitling guests to unlimited drinks should also be targeted, say the
researchers, since surveyed students who received drinks for a set price were more
likely to binge. ãEliminating this practice of selling alcohol without a license should be
a priority,ä said Wechsler.
Other authors of the study are: Meichun Kuo, ScD, also at Harvard School of Public
Health (Boston, MA); Hang Lee, PhD, at UCLA School of Medicine (Torrance,
CA); and George W. Dowdall, PhD, at St. Joseph's University (Philadelphia, PA).
The American Journal of Preventive Medicine, sponsored by the Association of
Teachers of Preventive Medicine and the American College of Preventive Medicine,
is published eight times a year by Elsevier Science.
|
