Underage Drinking In The United States

Binge drinking and consumption of alcohol by minors has long been a problem on college campuses. According to the 2013 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 59.4% of college students between the ages of 18-22 consumed alcohol within the past month (Prevalence. The same survey found that 39% of students in the same age group reported binge drinking (five or more drinks in a short period of time) within the past month. Given these numbers, institutions have created many programs to both deter drinking and encourage safer drinking. This literature review will analyse and discuss current literature regarding prevention programs, professional standards, and statistics about college age drinkers.

Binge drinking is considered to be a health problem because nearly half of all college students have reported to drink more than 5 drinks is a short period of time (Hennessee, 2013). There has been about 1,825 college students who have died from alcohol-related injuries such as motor-vehicle crashes with the students being between 18 - 24 years old (College Drinking Fact Sheet, 2015). An increase of 6% of college deaths have occurred due to binge breaking increasing the total numbers from 1,600 to 1,700 (Hingson, Heeren,, & Wechsler n.d.). Many other health issues that are associated with binge drinking are: unintentional injuries, intentional injuries such as sexual assault, alcohol poisoning, sexually transmitted diseases, unintended pregnancy, liver disease, sexual dysfunction, and poor watch of diabetes (Fact Sheets - Binge Drinking, 2015).

Binge drinking is considered to be a health problem because nearly half of all college students have reported to drink more than 5 drinks is a short period of time (Hennessee, 2013). There has been about 1,825 college students who have died from alcohol-related injuries such as motor-vehicle crashes with the students being between 18 - 24 years old (College Drinking Fact Sheet, 2015). An increase of 6% of college deaths has occurred due to binge breaking increasing the total amount from 1,600 to 1,700 (Hingson, Heeren, & Wechsler, n.d.).

“According to the CDC, about 90% of all teen alcohol consumption occurs in the form of Binge Drinking, which experts say peaks at the age of nineteen.” (qtd by Listfield). Binge Drinking is the consumption of excessive amounts of alcohol in a short period of time. The author, Emily Listfield, defines that the standard alcohol consumption over a two hour period is considered to be four beers for women and five beers for men. This has become a great distraction for college students nationwide and a major dilemma on college campuses. Nearly two hundred thousand students visit emergency rooms each year due to the abuse of alcohol, and more than one thousand seven hundred students die. In the article “ The Underage Drinking Epidemic”, Listfield identifies the problems that underage drinking can cause, the dangers that could happen, and four solutions on what parents can do to keep their kids from binge drinking.

Underage Drinking on College Campuses Everyday there are young adults drinking underage around the United states on and off college campuses. Even with a national drinking age and laws that govern that drinking age, young adults are still drinking. Many universities across the nation have tried to eliminate underage drinking, by creating a zero alcohol on campus policy. This policy pertains to all students whether of drinking age or not. The universities that create such policies are known to college students as a dry campus. The concept of a dry campus is to eliminate the access to alcohol to those students that are under age, drinking and driving, and binge drinking on campus. Campuses that are dry have the most restrictive alcohol

Although there are many commercials, ads, documentaries, seminars, etc. on the reasons why people should never drink and drive, you would be surprised how many people still get behind the wheel after having had more than just a drink or two. We might not realize it but every day, about 28 people in the United States die in car crashes that involve a drunk driver. This equals to one death every 51 minutes! It’s so sad because these statistics could be way better if people had a well thought out plan prior to going out drinking. There has been research found relating to Drinking and Driving Behaviors since this topic is now becoming more of an issue in this generation than it was in the past. For instance, Schell, Chan, and Morral (2006), found that some people who have a DUI record tend to have pretty high expectations of themselves even after having some drinks in their system (e.g., “I feel more relaxed when drinking"), so with that being said those people with higher confidence were the ones more likely to be engaged in drinking and driving activity. While intoxicated, we often don’t consider any negative consequences that can happen to us but as you’ll see on the news, on social media, in the newspapers, etc. driving while under the influence can be very dangerous and even fatal.

Dr. Henry Wechsler, a researcher at Harvard School of Public Health, and a leading expert on college binge drinking states, “President Ronald Reagan made the legal drinking age 21, it was the right decision. The Legal drinking age should remain at 21 for the entire nation” (Giamo 1). Although the legal age to purchase alcohol is twenty-one, a majority of students in

“With such compelling information, the question is why haven 't we been able to do more to prevent the crisis of underage drinking? The answer is: rising the age to 25” is what Lucille Roybal-Allard once said, a U.S. Representative for serving in Congress since 1993. This statement has brought many to speculate of issues and debates. This expression opened the eyes of American people that often struggled to make this truth into a reality. It might be easy to believe that age laws lowered the deaths of the underage but there are still signs of its dreadful company in many pieces of American life. Families who choose to educate their children about underage drinking and driving, seem to have a higher chance of getting through with the child. These underage teens can face jail or death when they give drinking a chance and even attempt to drive, having a sexual intercourse or just plain out doing something out of the teen’s element.

One main reason drinking should be allowed for college-aged students is because they are all adults, and should have equal rights as any other adult once they turn 18. As legal adults, 18-year-olds hold the option to serve in the military and die for the United States of America, can purchase cigarettes, and are able to wed, and live on their own. Along with legal obligations such as paying taxes and standing as an active jury member, adults can take out loans,

Remember being sixteen and the only thing we could possibly do with the rest of our lives was wait to turn eighteen? On our eighteenth birthday we found a renewed sense of the word maturity as we were now able to walk into gas stations or grocery stores to buy lottery tickets or a pack of cigarettes. At this point in our lives we were able to attain a full driver 's license, no more permit or be in by 9 rules! But, there is still that "Under 21" label above or right next to your name, even though you gain a lot of responsibilities and rights at 18, your driver 's license is an indication and reminder to how “youthful” you still are. By age eighteen we are able to enlist (Enlisting) and die for our country. Everyone knows how heroic that is, however, “at eighteen years old you have nearly every burden and privilege as adults...except the right to drink alcohol” (Lynn)

techprogram/paper_40822.htm)." Some other effects that can happen from drinking is that students get in trouble with police, vandalism, get injured, or even worse, death. Over 1,400 students are killed annually because of their alcohol use, according to researchers at the Boston University School of Public Health. This survey also claims that over 600,000 students a year are assaulted by other students who have been drinking. Additionally, over 70,000 are the victims of sex assaults or date rapes in similar circumstances. These are very disturbing figures. Thirty-one percent of college students met criteria for a diagnosis of alcohol abuse and 6 percent for a diagnosis of alcohol dependence in the past 12 months, according to questionnaire-based self-reports about their drinking. Drinking heavily seems to bring out more difficulties in a person's life and can only continue the same way as an adult. One starts to rely on alcohol to solve problems and may continue throughout their life because their body becomes dependent on alcohol to make them feel good again.

As an eighteen year old in America, you are able to sign housing contracts, join the military, marry a loved one, or even own a firearm but you cannot have a legal drink. We are allowing young American citizens to sign their life away to fight for our country yet if they are seen with a beer they will experience legal complications. Also, at the age of eighteen you are able to smoke and purchase cigarettes, why make drinking different? Underage drinking in America is inevitable. Bill H.R 734, Eliminating the Restrictions of Legal Drinking Age, proposes to eliminate having a legal drinking age in the United States. With having no drinking age in the United States it can help teens learn responsibilities of being an adult. People all around the world drink alcohol, both legally and illegally. There are many incidents of young Americans getting caught underage drinking every day. Allowing the drinking age to be eliminated can help teens learn responsibilities about drinking and affects alcohol can cause. Lowering the drinking age would help prevent crime and personal injuries that are caused by alcohol abuse.

The legal drinking age in the United States is 21, while in other countries the legal age ranges from 16-18. The argument in the United States is, “Should the United States lower its drinking age?” There are many sides to this argument but research has given many good points to back up both sides of the question. First issue is the difference between a teen’s brain with alcohol and an adult’s brain with alcohol. Another concern is that drinking at a younger age can help teach culture. Lastly, the more alcohol that people are exposed to, there is an increase in death rate. I believe that it is a good idea to keep the legal drinking age at age 21 because in our past we have had many problems with increased deaths due to the drinking age being at different ages. My research used uses pathos, logos, ethos and kairos to help persuade the reader that 21 should stay the legal drinking age.

Research has supported the observation that young people in America consume alcohol regularly; this prevalence of use increases rapidly during adolescence, as well as a few years afterward (Wagenaar and Wolfson 37). This has come to be a problem among college students. It has been shown through extensive quantitative and qualitative research that those under twenty-one years of age are able to obtain alcohol, which allows them to binge drink. Binge drinking holds many problems for college students: alcohol poisoning, DUIs, traffic accidents, and even fatalities.

College life is filled with changes. It is filled with many new experiences. As college students, we are on our own, adults. As adults we are responsible for keeping up to date on information that affects us. One issue that affects college students nation wide is drinking. The current legal drinking age in the United States is twenty-one years of age. The Federal government raised the legal drinking age from 18 to 21 in 1984. Even with the current drinking age at twenty-one, many people under that age choose to drink anyway. In fact, a government survey from 1996 showed that 56% of high school seniors reported drinking in the last 30 days (Hanson). With so many underage drinkers, many people