Kaitlin Barrera
English 1010 (TR 4:00 – 5:15)
November 22, 2010
PEAR Paper (Underage Drinking)
The room is fuzzy and all I see is the distance outline of a clock on the far left wall. I like
this feeling as it takes me to a place where I can’t feel anything. The warmth of my skin and the
calm relaxing sensation that is overpowering me is finally starting to settle in. At this point, I feel
that no one will be able to bother me but when was I ever right? He must have said something
that upset me because the next thing I knew I was throwing punches left and right. Everyone was
trying to pull me off of him but I just wouldn’t budge or so I was told. Thinking back now, I don’t
exactly remember anything about that night.
-Anonymous
Many teenagers are have similar experiences with alcohol each and every day. These
types of actions go unnoticed each day as teenagers dig themselves deeper into this illegal
activity. The idea that you could not remember anything about one particular night baffles me
but each day, it happens. With this, I decided to get some facts on this activity, the reasoning’s
for why people feel the need to drink and what are some possible solutions for lowering the
percentage rate of underage drinking.
The first thing I did was pick up a book called “Teens under the Influence” by Katherine
Ketcham. This book talked about the truth about alcohol and other drugs, how to recognize the
problem, and what to do about it. One of the most heart wrenching stories in this book dealt with
a fifteen year old girl named Janelle who had been placed in a detention facility fifteen times in
the last three years. When she was six years old, her mother offered her a wine cooler, only eight
years old when she first tried marijuana and twelve years old when she became addicted to
methamphetamines. Alcohol is a gateway drug that can lead you down a very powerful path.
Now when you are that young and subduing yourself to substances that could be
potentially harmful, it can have lasting effects on your body. “Because the adolescent brain is
still developing and maturing in ways that allow us to function as rational, reasonable, mature
adults, drugs threaten our very survival by short-circuiting the normal process of development
and leading to long-term problems with memory, learning, speech, mood and personality.”
(Ketcham, page 882-84) Given that the body is so vulnerable in these stages of our lives, trying
drugs around this age are when they could cause the worst damage.
Unfortunately that’s when most of teenagers are ready to experiment with this legal drug.
According to statistics gathered by the author of Teenagers under the Influence by 8th grade
47.0% of all 8th graders have already tasted alcohol. That’s almost half of all children in this age
group. At this age, 8th graders are only 13 to 14 years old. That’s when their brain is still
developing at a rapid speed. This statistic doesn’t just stop there. By the time these children have
reached 12th grade, the number of how many have tasted grows higher by 31.4%. By the time
these children reach the young age of 17 to 18 years old 78.4% of all high school children have
been influenced to try alcohol.
So why are children drinking alcohol? This question has many possibly answers. The
author of Teenagers under the Influence asked the similar question to some of the patients she
was treating. The list of possible reasons is long but these are just a few. “Many kids use drugs
for the same general reason adults use drugs—to get high, to feel happy, stimulated, relaxed,
intoxicated, to ease stress, frustration, tension, disappointment, fear or anger, to take their minds
off their pain or their troubles.” (Ketcham, page 588-93)
Before drinking any type of alcohol substance, remember this. The consequences of one
night could be far beyond any type of high that you could reach. “Alcohol damages the young
brain, interferes with mental and social development, and interrupts academic progress. Alcohol
is the fatal attraction for many teens, a major factor in the three leading causes of teen death –
accidents, homicide, and suicide.” Research has shown that through drinking alcohol, the brain
tends to shrink as a result of this poisonous substance. For a person who regularly uses alcohol it
causes the blood vessels in the brain to constrict and brain activity to slow down. When you have
an assortment of underlying ideas put together that sober teenagers would consider, such as
driving while music blaring, adding alcohol to the mix could be a deadly concoction. When you
are drunk, the idea of drinking and driving is a lot more inviting than if you were driving sober.
The magnitude of this situation could cause impending destruction beyond you and the
passengers in your car. The innocent lives of many could be taken from this world.
“Adolescents know that of all drugs available to them, alcohol is the most devastating
and destructive of all. It is legal, it is everywhere, it is addictive and drinking it can make you
stupid, aggressive, and violent.” The consequences of drinking alcohol are a lot greater than any
other substance that you can intake. It is said that when consuming any type of drug, above all
alcohol is the leading drug that will invoke the most violence out of individuals. Violence is not
the only potential consequence of drinking alcohol. “Teens who drink are seven times more
likely to have sex, and twice as likely to have sex with four or more partners. Teens who use
alcohol also tend to become sexually active at a younger age.” There could be many possible
accidental outcomes when this situation occurs. Not only could you conceive a child but you
could also give this baby a most devastating disease, fetal alcohol syndrome. You could also get
numerous STD’s from more than one partner. Partners that you could of just met earlier that
night without knowing much information about their past.
Now when considering all of this, I started wondering what things you could change that
would influence teenagers to try a safer route to having fun. “In 2008 a group of university and
college presidents expressed their discontent with the minimum legal drinking age of 21 years by
signing on the Amethyst Initiative, a much publicized advocacy efforts to encourage public
debate about lowering the drinking age. “ (Wechsler, Par. 4) With this public debate, they want
to encourage the lowering of the drinking age to 18 in order to help those adolescents who are
drinking in unsafe undisclosed areas to keep a further distance from the public authorities. Some
college presidents have expressed concern that these unsafe drinking environments have
contributed to an increase in alcohol poisoning deaths among youths and young adults. With
this, they can now drink out in public areas where they will have immediate attention in case
something goes terribly wrong. “Alcohol consumption is the third leading cause of death in the
United States, a major contributing factor to unintentional injuries, the leading cause of death for
youth and young adults.” (Wechsler, Par. 5) With these unintentional injuries, teens that are
drinking underage now will be more inclined to get public help to their friends who are in
danger.
Studies have shown that although this may be a good idea in theory, the facts prove the
opposite. In the 1970’s a number of states lowered their drinking age to 18 along with the voting
age when the Vietnam War was in progress. This lead to an “increase in the sale and
consumption of alcohol and alcohol-involved traffic fatalities, particularly among young adults
aged 18 – 20 years [old].” (Wechsler, Par. 7) When this tragic study came out many states
reinstated the policy to keep the minimum age at 21 years old. This then lead teens to drive
across state lines in order to drink in states that allowed 18 years old to consume this harmful
beverage. By 1984 the Drinking Age Act became a law “requiring the states to prohibit the
purchase and public possession of alcohol for persons aged younger than 21 years in order to
receive all of their federal highway funds.” (Wechsler, Par. 7) This was known as an incentive to
the states and by 1988, all states had a minimum drinking age of 21 years old.
Across the European continent, the effects of what happened in the United States are the
same as in countries over there. “Heavy alcohol use among adolescents is a common problem
across Europe. Frequent binge drinking among adolescents 15 to 16 years in many countries
occur more than double that in the United States. The European region has the highest overall
consumption of alcohol among adults and the highest proportion of alcohol-attributable deaths in
the world.” (Wechsler, Par. 20). By reversing the tremendous progress we have made in the
United States to lower the death toll of adolescents (about 800 lives annually among 18 – 20 year
olds) we would only be making a step back in this great nation we live in. By having the
minimum legal drink age of 21 years, we are lowering levels of drinking and alcohol-involved
fatalities according to research provided by Henry Wechsler and Toben F. Nelson.
Others have a different idea on the way to handle underage drinking. They don’t want to
necessarily change the drinking age to 18 but require 18 year olds to not only complete high
school, attend an alcohol-education courses (that consist of more than just scare tactics and
lectures) and to keep a clean record. At that point, they could get licensed to drink at that certain
age. They could also make it mandatory before any individual completes high school to take an
alcohol education class within the high school. We could also adopt a zero tolerance law for
drunk drivers of all ages. These little changes could finally reverse the amount of alcohol that is
consumed by underage drinkers.
A similar way of handling the underage drinking problem was brought to my attention by
Reginald Fennell who wrote an article for the Journal of American College Heath titled “Using
the “KISS” principle to Address Alcohol Misuse/Abuse in the United States.” Keep It Safe and
Simple (KISS), “a principle that stresses design simplicity over unnecessary complexity, should
be the guiding principle used to address the problems with alcohol misuse and abuse in the
United States and on college campuses.” (Fennell, Par. 1). With that, he concedes to the fact that
children are going to drink regardless of the prohibition law. He uses the analogy that we cannot
stop ice cubes from melting in a fireplace much more than we cannot stop young adults from
drinking. We need a better solution beyond the minimum drinking age being 21. There are many
offenses with drinking and driving each year and making it mandatory for each car to have an
ignition lock installed in it would cut back on the fatalities each year. “Why wait until someone
commits an offense?” he proclaims. He has a good point when he states this as we shouldn’t wait
until someone commits such a serious offense as drinking and driving before we start to think of
the consequences of their actions. Making it mandatory on all vehicles for an ignition lock would
be the best solution to keep drunk drivers off the street. The KISS principle would not stop those
adolescents who get alcohol poisoning one night when they are binge drinking or those young
adults who commit vandalism on a drunken rampage though. So coming up with one solution for
one major issue would not stop all other consequences of this harmful substance. Where can we
go from there?
The most important thing that I think everyone agrees on with this subject is not how
teens handle the pressure of adolescents and drinking but the influences parents have on their
children. Driving by a billboard on the side of the street one dark cloudy evening, the message
stood out to me. It was a little boy and his father laughing, the gleam in both of their eyes
shining. In the caption it read “When parents stay close, kids stay alcohol-free.” The message
was so simple yet it made so much sense. When parents are around and they get to know the life
you lead and the choices you are making, it’s easier for those adolescents to say no to drugs and
alcohol. When these parents teach you moral values such as the responsibilities that come with
sex and alcohol and they give you a standpoint on these issues that influence you not to partake
in them, children are keen on listening. “The conscience of children is formed by the influences
that surround them; their notions of good and evil are the result of the moral atmosphere they
breathe.” It is said that the way parents teach their kids growing up will influence them
throughout the rest of their lives. According to research done by Katherine Ketcham “children
whose parents use drugs are more likely to be exposed to drugs and drug users than children
whose parents abstain from using drugs. Children also tend to adopt their parents attitudes
toward drugs. If drugs are part of their everyday life, they may begin to view drug use as
“normal”.”
Fortunately, for those parents who do have this tactic way of life, showing their kids the
lifestyle of drugs and alcohol and contributing to underage drinking are now being penalized. In
Lake County, Illinois they have approved social-host laws that penalize any adult who allows a
minor to drink or use drugs. This law will jail any “supervising adult” for up to six months if
convicted of allowing teen drinking or possession of alcohol. This get tough attitude towards
adults providing alcohol is supposed to provide a consistent message to teenagers that this
lifestyle is not approved of until they are old enough to maintain it. Each town is different and
varies depending on the town’s ordinance. For instance in Lake Forest parents may be fined up
to $2,500 dollars for allowing teens to drink. Above all, I think this law is the most enforcing as
it shows what parents are supposed to be. They are supposed to parent you and supervise each
action you take and with this law, it gives them that message as well.
Going into my interview with a social worker that works for The Department of
Workforce Services named Tracy, I had a few questions to ask her that would give me some
insight as to why kids drink and her opinion on what should be done in case a child does get
influenced to try this substance. The first question I asked was as simple as that. Why do kids
drink? Her answer was simple but it really tells you how other adolescents are now a days. She
believes it not only comes down to their friends and the peer pressure that surrounds them but
also because of curiosity. This curiosity then leaves to destructive behavior that you would have
never guessed otherwise. Asking her a more in depth question I wondered what she thought of
changing the drinking age to 18 instead of the age that we have now. Her answer was a firm no.
She doesn’t believe that it needs to be any lower than it is right now. She thinks 21 years old is a
mature age for drinkers and that’s when they can handle it with more maturity than someone at
the young age of 18.
One of the most important things I wanted to know was how strong of a hold she thinks
parents need to have on their children. She believes that parents play a big role in the way a child
is brought up. When they are getting older, you need to set restrictions on them and give them
rules that they need to follow. Some of the restrictions she has set for her own children are rules
such as a curfew and having them check in at all times if they are ever going to be late. Another
rule she has that I thought was actually really smart was that her children cannot keep their car
overnight. They must always come home and drop it off before heading out with their friends if
they are ever going to sleep over. That way they can’t be gallivanting all over the city with their
car and most times, this rule keeps them locked up at a house where they will be safe. She also
waits up until her child is home to make sure that they are following the rules how she has set
them. She can then also make sure that they come home in good condition with no alcohol on
their breath or drugs in their system. Her plans for raising her children have worked out so far as
she has one daughter in the military and another son that was just accepted to the Air Force
Academy. Neither child has had any problem with alcohol or any other drug related problems.
With all this in mind, I wanted to know what advice she had for other parents who were
dealing with sons or daughters who were drinking. She thought above all, a parent needs to be
the one in control. A parent cannot be the child’s friend at this stage in their lives. When they are
older and have grown and matured, they can be their friend but right now, it’s more important to
be a parent than a friend. She also wanted to let them know that parents need to set boundaries
and rewards. If they are eligible to get their license at 16, let them know that they need to work to
get the license and don’t just hand it over. They need to learn the responsibilities that go with
growing up. She also wanted them to know that it’s important to set goals with their children.
When kids have goals to work for, such as the Air Force Academy like her son, they are more
inclined to work towards this goal than to self-destruct their lives with alcohol.
Getting near the end of my research, it made me really sit down and think. Is it really
worth the risks that most teenagers take every day? Do the benefits, which are hardly any,
outweigh all the other evidence that we have on the Cons section? With all that I know now, I
really do believe that children of all ages up until 21 should stick to the high road and not partake
in this harmful substance. Alcohol is only holding you down at this point and the way I was
taught growing up, if you don’t have an education and goals then the future you want will never
come true. With alcohol, told simply, your stars will not shine as bright as they could.