Intervention Principles and Practice Guidelines for - Underage ...

Preventing the onset of alcohol use or ending alcohol consumption by youth and young adults
once it has begun protects both individuals and society from harms related to underage drinking:
Data on the initiation of alcohol use show trends toward earlier onset than in the past, and there is a
strong relationship between early initiation of alcohol use and ongoing detrimental consequences to
both the user and others in society. Serious lifelong problems are much more likely to plague youth
who begin drinking before age 15. Underage drinkers also tend to drink much more heavily than
their adult counterparts. The assumption behind this document is that preventing the initiation of,
or eliminating alcohol use by, youth and young adults will result in increased well-being of underage
individuals and others in the society.
Prohibiting underage drinking and intervening proactively with youth and young adults who do
consume alcohol shapes beliefs, attitudes, and social behavior: Endeavors to prevent or intervene
in youth’s participation in potentially dangerous behaviors, such as smoking, have shown promising
results. For example, studies indicate that increasing the price of cigarettes, restricting smoking in
public places, and stop-smoking interventions have led to reduced rates of smoking especially among
adults, although results among youth are not quite as robust (Lantz, 2004). There is reason to expect
that similar combinations of community-based and individually targeted approaches can have similar
impact on the beliefs and behaviors of youth with respect to alcohol.
Principles of Community Supervision of Underage
Drinking Offenders
The following principles provide a foundation for practice in diversion and probation programs with
these youth and young adults.
Principle 1:
Effectively addressing underage drinking requires a comprehensive approach. This approach
should seek to diminish the supply of alcohol available to underage drinkers. At the same time,
it should decrease their consumption of alcohol by controlling and changing the behaviors and
attitudes of those who engage in underage drinking.
A comprehensive approach that works with both communities and individuals has the greatest
likelihood of creating healthier communities and successfully intervening in the lives of young people at
risk. Strategies for reducing underage drinking based in the community environment include (Bonnie &
O’Connell, 2004):
• Limiting the access to alcohol for youth through increasing the minimum drinking age and
strengthening prohibitions against providing alcohol to those who are underage.
• Raising taxes on alcohol products to reduce consumption by youth and young adults.
• Decreasing advertisements and media portrayals of alcohol consumption as an attractive and
acceptable activity for youth and young adults.
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