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Many underage drinkers get alcohol from people who are old enough to buy it: family members, friends and acquaintances who are 21 or older. A study of young adults who had recently reached the legal drinking age looked at how often they provide alcohol to minors, and why.

The study

Arria and colleagues (2014) interviewed 755 current or recent college students aged 22 to 26. Each of them had been approached by a minor to provide alcohol at least once since turning 21. The interviews asked how often they provided alcohol, to whom, and what they thought about providing alcohol to minors under 18 and to older minors aged 18 to 20.

Findings

  • Most participants (84.6%) had provided alcohol to a minor at least once.
  • Provision to older minors (18 to 20) was far more common (82.8%) than to younger minors under 18 (20.7%), and it happened more often.
  • Few providers (2.4%) were ever caught.
  • Recipients were usually friends or family members, rather than acquaintances or strangers.
  • Legal concerns were more common than health concerns: 82.5% (younger minors) and 53.7% (older minors) had legal concerns, against 55.7% and 9.5% with health concerns.
  • Legal concerns predicted a lower likelihood of providing alcohol. Fraternity or sorority involvement and higher peer drinking norms went with providing alcohol more often.

Why it matters for prevention

The authors conclude that young adults who have recently turned 21 could be an important target for prevention strategies to reduce underage drinking on college campuses. The link with peer drinking norms is relevant for social norms work: what young adults believe their peers do is part of the picture. For a related look at parents who supply alcohol to teens, see Parents who supply teens with alcohol.

Sources

  • Arria, A. M., Caldeira, K. M., Moshkovich, O., Bugbee, B. A., Vincent, K. B., & O'Grady, K. E. (2014). Providing alcohol to underage youth: The view from young adulthood. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 38(6), 1790-1798. doi:10.1111/acer.12426