Research Paper Summary

Research Paper Summary

Methods to Prevent Underage Drinking:

1.     Attachment Theory- psychoanalyst John Bowlby, describes the theory as people having an inherent and universal desire to be accepted by others (Eusebio et al, 1). The attachment that an adolescent should feel to their parents is proven to be a preventive method for underage drinking and other rebellious activities. The American Psychological Association’s Andrew Lac et al. cites human connection activities such as “engaging in familial activities that cultivate trust, encouraging bidirectional parent– child communication, and adopting disciplinary practices that reject delinquent behaviors” (Lac et al, 9) as being activities that discourage underage drinking and promote Bowlby’s attachment theory.

2.     Laws- Internal possession (IP) laws prohibit minors from having alcohol in their system. Studies show that IP laws reduce high school drinking by 10% on average. P laws ban generally all underaged drinking activities, but there are specific laws that prohibit situational drinking. Minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) laws including purchasing laws, zero tolerance laws, and use- and- lose laws which allows the suspension of driving privileges for minor guilty of alcohol violations are proven to cause a decrease in the ratio of underage drinking drivers to nondrinking drivers in fatal crashes

3.     Positive Parental Involvement- Parents who drink to the point of intoxication in front of their young children are most likely going to raise adolescents that experiment with underage drinking because alcohol is familiar to them. According to Bandura’s social learning theory, “individuals learn behavior through observing and interacting with those who they are closest to.” Although children with parents who drink often have negative associations with alcohol due to the anxiety that the parents cause for the children because of violent, threatening, or immoral behavior, the exposure of drinking to children could lead to undesired alcohol consumption for youths simply because “they are closest to” their parents.