<p>No, but their environmental conditions are significantly different. Teen drinking declined significantly after the drinking age was changed to age 21. Thousands of Americans are alive today who wouldn’t be as a result of the change. The mass marketing of so-called malt beverages post 2001 substantially changed teen drinking patterns and preferences, and also changed the ability of teens to understand how much, in fact, they are drinking. The percentage of teen drinkers may not have changed (though because of the previous fact, that data may not be entirely accurate), but the intensity of binge drinking has changed substantially.</p>
<p>That is precisely why you have to compare today to 30 years ago. What changed to cause this increase in intense binge drinking? One of the things that has changed dramatically is they way people treat their offspring as they are growing up. I think my generation’s propensity to treat our children like babies contributes significantly to the current binge drinking problem.</p>
<p>We have no evidence of that. In fact, as noted, the percentage of binge drinkers hasn’t changed (though that masks another truth: African Americans, Hispanics, and Asian Americans both drink and binge substantially less than Caucasians, so as their percentage of the population grows, it might be that Caucasian teens are binging more than they used to.) But, overall, if people are treating their offspring differently, it hasn’t resulted in more of them binging.</p>
<p>What we do know is that, among college students, teens can’t accurately measure out a standard mixed drink, and underestimate the number of hard alcohol drinks they have.</p>
<p>If I knew how to embed the link here, I would direct you to an August 2008 article where several university presidents supported lowering the drinking age. The gist of the argument is that binge drinking is exacerbated by the underground drinking of underage kids. I think there is something to be said for allowing adults to buy a drink at a restaurant, where quantities are regulated by cost and the behavior expectations of management. At a minimum such an approach provides an alternative to fraternity parties for social drinking.</p>
<p>Very, very few university presidents support lowering the drinking age. After a two-year campaign, the Amethyst initiative could barely come up with 100. The social drinking approach has been studied in Australia, and it was found that kids who drink with their parents, in restaurants, etc. at earlier ages, binge drink substantially more than those who don’t.</p>
<p>It does not tarnish the reputation of one school, but should tarnish the reputation of about every higher education in the country. After all, there are very few institutions that have found the courage to attack the problems at their roots. And, unfortunately, to keep the vegetable analogy, there are times that to save a crop, you’ve got to remove the rotten plants by removing the roots. </p>
<p>Education and dissemination should work in a perfect world, but by now, someone should realize that preaching year after year in a desert does NOT work. It is time to add a less subtle dimension, and work towards mitigating the problem by decapitating the perennial abusers. One a time, and not stop until the message is finally heard AND understood. </p>
<p>Of course, looking at how things have changed in the past decade, it appears to be beyond hope, at least with the current crop of the “leaders” at our schools.</p>
<p>ProudPatriot - I am curious as to why you think parents are now treating their adult children as babies? While there certainly may be a percentage of parents that “over parent” or helicopter, I don’t see that as the norm with my children or their friends. I think there are many mature students who find themselves in less than desirable circumstances once they arrive on a college campus. (The recent Northwestern case is a good example).</p>
<p>My perception is that what leads to this behavior is a strong desire for acceptance by their peers. I think this is a normal emotion for an 18 year old leaving home for the first time. The problem is that if Universities allow the greek system to set the social norms, then they are asking for trouble. How can students (mature or immature) arriving as newcomers change the norms that already exist on a college campus? So some of them go along to get along. Sad situation.</p>
<p>“Fraternities agreed to ban hard liquor from houses during recruitment and self-police”</p>
<p>Wait, they are supposed to self-police when there are going to be serious consequences for breaking the rule? That’s ridiculous. Who is going to turn in their own group and say “We had Jim Beam at the party, shut us down”?</p>
<p>Someone had to purchase the booze. Someone over 21. Someone who knew it was going to be served to underage students. That person or persons should be dealt with severely.</p>
[quote]
… it was found that kids who drink with their parents, in restaurants, etc. at earlier ages, binge drink substantially more than those who don’t.
[quote]
That’s interesting. My parents’ attitude towards alcohol was about as casual as it got. My brother and I were drinking wine on special occasions as young as 10, and in college we could drink ourselves blue in the face as far as they were concerned. That way, we’d get good and sick and learn when to quit. (All of this as long as we didn’t get behind the wheel of a car, of course.) It worked for me. A couple of hangovers made me a moderate drinker for life, and alcohol didn’t have the lure of forbidden fruit like it did for my friends with more conservative parents.</p>
<p>The plural of anecdote is not evidence. (One of the problems with the evidence is that many parents who gave alcohol to their kids at restaurants and at home likely had serious alcohol problems themselves.)</p>
<p>Perhaps we should ask what African American, Hispanic, and Asian American parents and families are doing right, as they binge at much lower rates. Some of it is genetic propensity - people of northern European descent have a much higher genetic risk of alcohol use and alcoholism. There is no direct link between college binge drinking and future alcoholism, but there is a direct link between heavy college drinking (nearly every day) and future alcoholism, with some 16% (give or take a couple of points) of college heavy drinkers experiencing alcoholism or serious alcohol problems later in life, the vast majority of them Caucasian.</p>
<p>I do not condone parents allowing their children to drink at a young age. But the reality is that when these 18 year-olds get to college, they will have access to alcohol. For me, I would rather they had the choice to go down to the Corner and legally share a pitcher and some nachos than go to a fraternity party and drink grain alcohol punch out of a garbage can. The University can only do so much parenting when the fraternities are not on Grounds, not to mention the private parties, which exist in equal quanties but are less publicized. Young adults will find a way to drink regardless of drinking age, as evidenced in the undiminished incidents of severe binge drinking.</p>
<p>In Haze, the movie about Gordie Bailey, one of the experts stated that on the surface, binge drinking has not really increased much. But you have to look a little deeper. Binge drinking as defined by the 4-5 drinks in one sitting has remained steady over the past several decades. But binge drinking to the tune of 10 or even 20 drinks in one sitting has increased exponentially. I find that very disturbing and it may explain why many of us have no college memories of kids being hospitalized with alcohol poisoning or dying from it after a night of partying. Binging on 4-5 drinks in an evening could cause physical effects such as vomiting, passing out, and a horrible hangover in the morning, but it rarely results in severe alcohol poisoning and aspiration of stomach contents, which often results in death.</p>
<p>People drinking a pitcher of beer rarely end up in the ER. Sadly, a pitcher of beer is no longer a substitute for the newly developed taste for hard liquor (which the liquor companies carefullly cultivated - there’s a lot more profit in it). </p>
<p>The actual percentage of college students drinking (as opposed to binge drinking) has not increased, though this is largely a factor of increasing numbers of non-Caucasian students.</p>
<p>If parents are so unsure of the ability of their adult age children to make appropriate decisions when they go away to college, then perhaps those children are not ready to go away to college. The universities are there to provide an education, not to babysit. Addressing the problem by suggesting the schools come down hard on the Greek system is not going to be effective when 1) the majority of students on most campuses are not Greek and 2) the irresponsible behavior is not confined to the Greek organizations.</p>
<p>Here’s a novel idea: if students exhibit the inability to control their behavior in high school, ie underage drinking, while under the authority of their parents- refuse to pay to send them away to school. Furthermore, if your student goes away to college and makes poor choices, bring him/her home. Going away to school is a privilege that should be given to those who earn it on both an academic and maturational level.</p>
<p>I say this as a parent of four students-of which one was brought home because of poor behavioral choices. The other three were fine, did not binge drink, and in fact did not drink alcohol until they were of legal age even the one who was president of her sorority. They all drink in moderation now.</p>
<p>This situation is tragic and sad, no doubt; however, what I find troubling is how many people refuse to acknowledge the concept of personal accountability. At 18 individuals are considered adults. If they commit a crime, they will not be charged as minors but rather adults and must suffer adult consequences. Why do parents refuse to acknowledge this when it comes to drinking? Why is it always so-in-so’s fault? Why do so many parents claim, “Oh, but the peer pressure is simply too great; that’s why they did it.”? I don’t know of any instance where a fraternity/sorority/other student group member put a gun to a fellow student’s head and said drink this or I’ll kill you. Although I feel badly many students make these life-threatening decisions, it is a personal choice. Every choice has consequences; it’s tiresome to constantly hear people try to make others the scapegoats. Sadly, I feel this type of attitude permeates many areas of our culture today. It’s time to man-up. Oh, and as an aside, UVA is composed almost entirely of very, very smart kids who are pillars within the community. I disagree with those who feel this is the norm; this school has earned the reputation of being one of the best publics in America for a reason, and I don’t feel this incident will tarnish its reputation.</p>
<p>All you have to do is peruse the pages of CC to see evidence that parents who do not allow their children to be adults. Just look at this thread and see how many people consider 18 year olds to be only “technically” adults.</p>
<p>Looking past the pages of CC it is common to see:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>Parents who have an irrational fear of allowing their kids to play outside. They might get hit by a car, or molested, or kidnapped. So the parents react by not ever allowing them outdoors unsupervised. I see this where I live all the time.</p></li>
<li><p>Parents do not give their children responsibility over their own lives. As a result 18 year olds don’t know how to make sandwich, cook an egg or iron their own clothes.</p></li>
<li><p>There are 10 year olds who cannot cut their own food because it would be too dangerous to give them a steak knife. My own kids had friends like this. 10 years old and I was cutting their food for them. Ridiculous.</p></li>
<li><p>Kids get trophies just for being registered on a team. It would just be such a terrible blow for little Susie learn that no her team did not win, did not come in first, whatever…Kids are sheltered from learning about losing for far too long. At my kids school there is a “no cut” policy on the sports teams, even in HS. Ridiculous. If you’re not good enough then you’re not. </p></li>
<li><p>My son told me that one of his friends had a parent call a professor because the child was not doing well in that class. I wonder why the parent does not know that it is no longer appropriate to discuss his child’s education progress when his child is a 19 year old man.</p></li>
</ol>
<p>I see it all the time. Parents baby their children. As a result the kids are acting like babies. They act the way we expect them to act. I am talking generationally, not to any one specific person.</p>
<p>In a completely unrelated area, I watch lots of the home buying shows. It now appears many parents will not buy a house with STAIRS because the kids might fall. Same for outdoor decks and god-forbid swimming pools.</p>