Young Adult Drinking: Environmental Influences

by National Institute of Health

Policy measures intended to control alcohol use and related problems have seldom been specifically targeted toward the entire group of young people between the ages of 18 and 25. Research evaluating these policies also tends not to focus on the 18-25 age group but, rather, on 18- to 20-year-olds or the adult population as a whole. Furthermore, some studies of alcohol control policies are cross-sectional and thus can offer only tentative information about the causes of results observed. Despite these limitations, the current literature does offer evidence for the effectiveness of particular alcohol control measures deserving of trials and further study among young adults. These measures affect the availability of alcohol, social messages about alcohol, and enforcement of current laws.

Alcohol use among young people is commonly associated with a number of ills, such as poor academic and work performance, community disruption, violence, injuries, and deaths. One way to prevent alcohol-related problems - among young people or the population as a whole - is to establish public and institutional policies that reduce overall alcohol consumption rates or reduce rates of high-risk drinking. This is commonly referred to as the "environmental approach" to alcohol problems - changing the community and policy environment to reduce drinking and its health and social problems. Alcohol control policies influence the availability of alcohol, the social messages about drinking conveyed by advertising and other marketing approaches, and the enforcement of existing alcohol laws. Availability of alcohol can be determined by policies that specify who can consume alcohol, where it can be consumed, and how and where alcohol is distributed and sold, as well as policies that affect the price of alcohol. Social messages are influenced by policies that regulate how alcohol is advertised and marketed. Laws prohibiting underage drinking, the sale of alcohol to minors, or underage drinking and driving are a third component of the broader social environment that influences drinking by young adults.

Of the numerous alcohol control measures in effect at the National, State, local, and institutional levels, few specifically target the entire young adult age group - that is, those between the ages of 18 and 25. Some policies are aimed at young people under the legal drinking age of 21 but are less likely to affect young adults ages 21 to 25. Institutional policies on college campuses are intended to reduce alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems among college students, the majority of whom are under the legal drinking age but, of course, have no effect on the many young adults who do not attend college. Other alcohol control efforts target the drinking behavior of the population as a whole, rather than that of specific subpopulations. Some of these policies may have a disproportionate effect on young adult drinkers compared with the rest of the population - for example, measures that address activity in bars and clubs, because young adults are more likely to patronize these establishments.

Not only have alcohol policy measures infrequently targeted the specific age group ages 18-25, researchers have seldom evaluated the effects of alcohol control policies specifically on this age group as a whole, although numerous studies have examined alcohol policy effects on the entire adult population, those under age 21, or college students. This article summarizes research on the effectiveness of alcohol control policies aimed at underage youth, college students, and the general population and, in particular, their effects on the drinking behavior of young adults.

Alcohol Control Policies: Underage Youth

The primary and most-studied alcohol control measure relevant to underage youth is the establishment of the minimum legal drinking age at 21. Many well-controlled longitudinal studies have shown that an MLDA of 21 is effective in reducing alcohol consumption and traffic crashes among 18- to 20-year-olds, and some investigators have found that the age-21 MLDA is associated with reductions in other problems among underage youth, such as alcohol-related suicide and vandalism. One study examined whether the age-21 MLDA had a spillover effect on the drinking behavior of 21- to 25-year-olds. This research found that college students who had been high school seniors in States with an MLDA of 18 drank more while in college than their counterparts who had been high school seniors in States with an MLDA of 21. High school graduates of the same age who were not attending college also drank more on average if they had been seniors in States with an MLDA of 18.

The age-21 MLDA has been effective in reducing teen drinking and alcohol problems with limited enforcement, which may illustrate the value of broad environmental approaches. Passage of the age-21 law established a norm that drinking by teenagers is inappropriate. This moral force of the law has some effect, even without active enforcement. In other words, many obey laws because it is the right thing to do, not just because of fear of enforcement penalties. Nevertheless, the law without enforcement is limited in its effects. Teenagers can easily obtain alcohol from both commercial outlets (e.g., bars and liquor stores) and social sources (e.g., friends, coworkers). Investigators have identified several policies and environmental strategies that strengthen MLDA laws and reduce underage access to alcohol - for example, checking the compliance of commercial outlets by having a minor attempt to purchase alcohol under the supervision of a law enforcement officer. If an establishment sells alcohol to the underage person, penalties can be applied to both the server and the license holder. Studies have shown that compliance checks are effective in reducing sales to underage youth and indicate that compliance checks may affect drinking behavior.

Other policies targeting youth access to alcohol, such as beer keg registration and penalties for producing or selling false age identification documents, have not been evaluated in terms of their effects on access or drinking rates.

About the Author

NIH is the nation's medical research agency - making important medical discoveries that improve health and save lives. The National Institutes of Health (NIH), a part of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, is the primary Federal agency for conducting and supporting medical research.