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SDSU Sociology Major Presents Research on 3/1/16

SDSU Sociology Major, Andrea Mulock, recent graduate, examined the extent to which stricter alcohol consumption laws affect underage and binge drinking. Her work is presented on 3/1/16, from 11a-3p at the Capitol in Pierre; Congratulations Andrea!! Here is more about her work:

Examining how laws affect underage drinking
Mulock found that stricter laws regarding alcohol use did not result in decreased underage drinking or binge drinking. “I was surprised because conventional wisdom is that if we legislate against something, we are working in deterrence mode.”

However, she noted, “I learned that a lot of time we act upon preconceived ideas instead of investigating them.” Mulock, who worked under the supervision of lecturer Patricia Ahmed, divided the states into three categories based on their alcohol consumption laws—strict, moderate and lax. Five states have strict laws with no exceptions to the minimum drinking age of 21 years old.

She classified six states as having lax laws because they had the most exceptions to the law provided the alcohol was consumed on private property where liquor was not sold. They also did not require consent from the underage person’s parent or guardian. The rest of the states fell into the moderate category, Mulock explained. These had some exceptions, such as religious ceremonies, with consent from a parent or guardian. The study included data from six states in this classification.

To determine underage alcohol use and binge-drinking rates, she used data collected from 12- to 20-year-olds through the National Survey on Drug Use and Health in 2003 and 2009 to 2013. The survey is administered by the Center for Behavioral Health Statistics and Quality for the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

“I used binge drinking because that’s where we see the most serious societal consequences,” explained Mulock. Binge drinking was defined as having five-or-more drinks at one setting.

When it comes to social problems, such as underage drinking, she pointed out, “We don’t really put a lot of time, effort and energy into figuring out the initial cause of that deviant behavior—perhaps we could make more of an impact that way.” Ahmed said, “This research is important in that it contributes to larger policy debates on the efficacy of criminalization as an effective remedy against underage drinking.”