Why Do Teens Drink?
A mother wrote into Vanessa Van Petten asking her about why teens choose to drink, and Vanessa responded with some great statistics coming from the kids themselves. I think this insight is helpful to parents and educators struggling to steer kids towards positive decision making and having to respond to the poor decisions teens sometimes make.
Teens recognize that the consequences of drinking alcohol aren’t worth the risk.
• The vast majority of teens do not think drinking is worth the consequences:
o Nine in ten (90%) don’t think drinking is worth the consequences it can cause, in general. Older teen girls ages 15-17 are more likely than younger teen girls ages 12-14 to agree (97% vs. 89%).
o Nine in ten (90%) think drinking at or after prom or a school function is NOT worth the risk of ruining the occasion.
Tags: teen drinking, teens and alcohol, vanessa van petten, why teens drink
April 25, 2008 at 10:08 am
I certainly agree that drinking as a teen is not worth the risks associated; however, experience has shown me that fear of the consequences does not always persuade young people from experimenting with drugs and alcohol.
As a community we must look to educate teens about the facts, especially the very serious ramifications of driving under the influence. Understanding why teens drink is an important first step in the process. Thank you for bringing to light significant problem facing teenagers and parents everywhere.
Recently I came across some information about the THINK Underage Drinking Prevention program. It is an initiative from Nationwide Insurance & MADD to curb underage drinking among high school age kids. For those interested…more information can be found by following the above link. I look forward to reading more about issues facing our youth – keep up the good work!
April 25, 2008 at 10:24 am
Thanks for the info Tommy! You’re right that consequences aren’t always enough, yes it just takes one bad decision to ruin several lives. There’s still plenty of work for all of us to do!
April 28, 2008 at 8:45 am
Amy - I think it’s great to get dialog going around the topic of underage drinking!
As we continue to discuss the problem, it will only become more visible to others!
It appears that I may have linked to the information about THINK incorrectly in my previous post - I have included it again in my signature on this post so that those interested may be able to find this information.
Also, an additional resource for this program can be found at: http://think.madd.org/
April 28, 2008 at 9:25 am
[...] a response to last week’s post on Why Teens Drink, I recieved some great information about MADD’s (Mothers Against Drunk Driving) Prom season [...]
May 7, 2008 at 12:58 am
Teen drinking is only a problem with the people who smash windows or get into fights. You make every teenager who drinks out to be some kind of kid who smashed cars and gets into trouble. I can tell you that im 15 and me and my friends drink and we dont cause any trouble.
I have amazing parents, and they dont know i drink because im sensible about it. not everyone is a yob
May 11, 2008 at 8:51 am
Anon,
I’m glad if you and your friends aren’t getting into trouble and making poor decisions, however, what you have to remember is that when you’re 15, drinking is illegal. Period. There are long term consequences for you just being caught with alcohol when you are minor, even if you aren’t making troublesome decisions while under the influence. I have several friends whose MIPs have followed them onto their college resumes and into their young professional life. You need to be sure your weighing the cost of involving yourself in illegal activity no matter how insignificant it may seem.