This page provides links to peer reviewed research related to the topic of underage alcohol use.  This section is regularly updated as new research is released to the public.

Adolescent Behavior

Underage Drinking Research Initiative (NIAAA)

Understanding Teen Drinking Cultures in America (George Mason University)

Why Do Adolescents Drink, What Are the Risks, and How Can Underage Drinking Be Prevented? (NIAAA)

Adolescent Development

Age of Drinking Onset and Injuries, Motor Vehicle Crashes, and Physical Fights After Drinking and When Not Drinking
Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, Volume 33 Issue 5, Pages 783 - 790. Published Online: 6 Mar 2009, Hingson, Edwards, Heeren, and Rosenbloom

Earlier age of drinking onset has been associated with greater odds of involvement in motor vehicle crashes, unintentional injuries, and physical fights after drinking. This study explores whether early drinkers take more risks even when sober by comparing potential associations between age of drinking onset and these outcomes after drinking relative to when respondents have not been drinking.

Binge Drinking May Hamper Information Relay System in Teen Brain
Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 2009

A study of adolescent binge drinkers has found that even relatively infrequent exposure to large amounts of alcohol during the teen years may compromise the integrity of the brain's white matter, which is critical for the efficient relay of information within the brain.

Children's Introduction to Alcohol Use: Sips and Tastes
Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research , Volume 32 Issue 1, Pages 108 - 119. Published Online: 7 Dec 2007, John E. Donovan and Brooke S. G. Molina

Sipping or tasting alcohol is one of the earliest alcohol use behaviors in which young children engage, yet there is relatively little research on this behavior. The present research describes the prevalence of sipping or tasting in a community sample of children, examines the sociodemographic correlates and social contexts of this behavior, and tests whether variables reflecting psychosocial problem-behavior proneness, that predict adolescent drinking, account for this behavior.

How multiple childhood maltreatments lead to greater adolescent binge drinking (Boston University)

Is the physical availability of alcohol and illicit drugs related to neighborhood rates of child maltreatment? (Child Abuse and Neglect)
Child Abuse and Neglect, vol. 29, issue 9, pgs. 1049-1060 (2005) Freisthler, B.; Needell, B.; and Gruenewald, P.J.
This study found that higher concentration of bars (B = 6.66, p < .05) and higher numbers of incidents of drug possession (B = .53, p < .001) were positively related to rates of child maltreatment in neighborhoods when controlling for neighborhood demographic characteristics. Thus, areas with more bars and drug possession incidents per 1000 population have higher rates of child maltreatment.

Protecting you/protecting me: effects of an alcohol prevention and vehicle safety program on elementary students (Journal of School Health)
Journal of School Health, vol. 75, issue 5, pgs. 171-177 (2005) Bell, M.L.; Kelley-Baker, T.; Rider, R.; and Ringwalt, C.
This paper describes an evaluation of Protecting You/Protecting Me (PY/PM), a classroom-based, alcohol-use prevention and vehicle safety program for elementary students in first through fifth grades developed by Mothers Against Drunk Driving. PY/PM lessons and activities focus on teaching children about (1) their brains (why their brain is important, how their brain continues to develop throughout childhood and adolescence, what alcohol does to the developing brain, and why it is important to protect their brain); (2) vehicle safety (what to do to protect themselves should they ever ride with an impaired driver); and (3) life skills (decision making, stress management, and media literacy).

Data and Statistics

Quick Stats on Underage Drinking (CDC)

Societal Costs of Underage Drinking

Legal

A Model for Judicial Leadership

Effect of 14 Underage Drinking Laws on Youthful Deaths National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA)
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) (4/12/2005 - 3/31/2008), Fell, J
Perhaps no alcohol safety measure has attracted more research and public attention or shown more consistent evidence for its effectiveness than the federal minimum legal drinking age 21 (MLDA 21) law in the United States. The proposed study will make use of the NIAAA Alcohol Policy Information System (APIS) data set and will augment that information with data from the National Liquor Law Enforcement Association (NLLEA), the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), and other sources that provide information on 14 underage drinking laws and regulations (e.g. possession, consumption, purchase, furnishing, age of servers, etc.) to construct a measure of the relative strength of each state's overall control program for underage drinking.

Evaluation of Alcohol Factors in Custodian Arrests - Wyoming 2007

Juvenile Probation Officers Call for a New Response – to Teen Drug and Alcohol Use and Dependency

Legal Barriers to Alcohol Screening in Emergency Departments and Trauma Centers (NIAAA)