Abstract
A random telephone survey of attitudes toward underage drinking was conducted in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area. The results revealed that alcohol use, especially alcohol-impaired driving, among youth were seen as serious problems by a majority (>80%) of the respondents. Strong support (>80%) was detected for imposing suffer penalties on bars and restaurants that sell alcohol to minors, older peers who purchase alcohol for minors, and driver's license restrictions for minors who possess and use alcohol. Over 50% favored stiffer penalties for parents who provide alcohol to minors. Respondents who were parents of teenage children were more likely to believe their teen's friends drink and drive (37%) than they were to believe their own teen drives drunk (10%). These parents were also unlikely to believe their teen had ever come home intoxicated (19%) despite the fact that almost 60% believed their teen has been to parties where there is drinking. These findings, and others from this survey, indicate that parents (especially whites) are unaware of the nature of teen drinking and are reluctant to accept the fact that their teens are involved with alcohol and high-risk alcohol-related behaviors. The implications of these findings for prevention programs are discussed.
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This investigation was supported by a research grant to the senior author from the Washington Regional Alcohol Program, and was conducted using the facilities of the Interdisciplinary Health Research Laboratory of the College of Health and Human Performance at the University of Maryland at College Park. Computer time for the statistical analyses was supported in full by the Computer Science Center, University of Maryland.
Received Ph.D. in social psychology from Syracuse University. Research interests: impaired driving, adolescent risk taking, substance abuse, and health threat perception.
Received Ph.D. in health education from University of Maryland. Research interests: alcohol and drug issues among youth.
Received M.Ed, in health education from University of Virginia. Research interests: substance abuse, impaired driving, and adolescent risk behavior.
Received M.Ed, in counseling psychology from Temple University. Research Interests: health behavior, smoking cessation and relapse.
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Beck, K.H., Scaffa, M., Swift, R. et al. A survey of parent attitudes and practices regarding underage drinking. J Youth Adolescence 24, 315–334 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01537599
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01537599