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Survey Shows Too Much Underage Drinking, Not Enough Parental Concern
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Survey Shows Too Much Underage Drinking, Not Enough Parental Concern
By Linda Fridy
Nearly two-thirds of Santa Cruz County youth ages 16 to 20 admitted to consuming binge-level quantities of alcohol within the last year, with Mid-County teens leading the way, a survey conducted by the United Way’s Project CURB revealed.
And just as frightening for youth advocates may be the reports that underage drinkers surveyed are often getting alcohol from adults they know and that parents believe teen alcohol use is to be expected.
The survey used Santa Cruz County youth to interview their peers for the survey this spring. Project CURB (Community United to Reduce Binging) surveyed some 400 individuals aged 16-20 years, including those who attended public, private and alternative high schools, as well as colleges. Some participants weren’t enrolled in classes.
UCSC’s SHOP (Student Health Outreach and Promotion) contacted 452 campus students, and a community survey reached 400 adults by phone.
Youth from the Mid-County area reported the largest percentage of binge drinking, at over 70 percent. And the vast majority of them are doing their heavy drinking at home, 65 to 70 percent according to the survey.
The survey defined binge drinking as five or more drinks in two hours, which could range from beer to glasses with several kinds of alcohol, said Jane Bogart, SHOP coordinator. “We’re going to assume they’re underreporting,” she said, given the variables.
So where are they getting these drinks?
“Most of the kids are getting the alcohol from friends and family,” said Chiquita Walker, an investigator with the Alcoholic Beverage Control.
More than 70 percent of youth respondents throughout the County said they get alcohol from adults they know. In the San Lorenzo Valley that number exceeded 90 percent.
Adults Ambivalent about Teen Drinking
While law enforcement, particularly within the city of Santa Cruz, is actively developing and enforcing laws to deter underage drinking, other adults are more accepting.
One-third of surveyed adults agreed with or did not dispute the statement that youth binge drinking is a normal, predictable rite of passage.
Two-thirds believe, “If you tell youth they can’t do it that just makes them want to do it more.”
However, teens disagreed with adults about how teens interpret messages from parents.
More than 90 percent of those surveyed who do not drink said their parents believe it is wrong or very wrong to drink regularly. Among kids who binge drink, 20 percent fewer of those teens said their parents were opposed to their drinking.
Peers have even more influence. Just 17.4 percent of binge drinkers have friends who think regular drinking is wrong, compared to 66.7 percent for non-drinkers.
Parents also aren’t aware of what their children are doing, said keynote speaker Bob Saltz. He presented results from another survey showing that while only 1 percent of parents think their children binge drink, 20 percent of the kids said they did.
“You can see that the parents are fairly clueless,” he said, a sentiment echoed by other speakers.
Underage Drinking Hurts Teens and Community
Speakers at the conference underscored the negative effects of binge drinking, not only for the youths, but also for those around them.
DUI incidents were the most commonly reported, especially by the non-UCSC respondents. More than 60 percent of them have ridden with a drunk driver, and almost 30 percent have driven under the influence themselves. Nearly as common are alcohol-related arguments or fights (58.3 percent), with 40.4 percent reporting being hurt.
The survey also documented suicidal thoughts and attempts after binge drinking episodes, memory loss, and unplanned or unsafe sexual activity during binge drinking.
Nearly 20 percent of young women reported alcohol-related sexual assault, a consequence that sheriff’s sergeant Shea Johnson has seen firsthand.
“I can’t tell you how many reports of sexual assault I took from young girls who went to the beach with their friends and can’t remember what happened, or if they can it’s devastating,” she said.
While the survey did not track criminal actions, the County has seen two acts of felony vandalism tied to underage drinking in the last four months.
Five young men were charged with breaking windows and malicious graffiti at Brook Knoll Elementary School in May. Detectives allege they came from a party with underage alcohol consumption. On the same day as the survey was released, the sheriff’s office announced alcohol was in-volved in the arson destruction of the library at San Lorenzo Valley High School by three underage suspects.
How the Community Can Make a Change
The conference focused not only on the problem, but also on solutions. Project CURB’s goal is to reduce binge drinking 50 percent among youth 16 to 20 by 2009.
Deputy Chief Patty Sapone of the Santa Cruz Police Department reviewed how Santa Cruz City has led the way with alcohol determent laws, starting with banning open containers in the 1980s.
Police use minors as decoys to identify adults who will buy alcohol for underage drinkers, and worked to make it illegal for minors to solicit alcohol as well as require conditional use permits for alcohol sales.
The city also passed a “loud and unruly gathering” ordinance that imposes a fine for repeat calls to a location for problem parties.
Sheriff’s sergeant Johnson, who is based in Aptos, strongly advocated for a similar ordinance at the County level affecting unincorporated areas like Aptos, Soquel and Live Oak.
“A lot of our complaints come from loud party calls,” she said. “We’ve seen an increase in this in the Aptos area.”
Projects countywide such as “shoulder tap” decoys and the Responsible Alcohol Merchant Awards have successfully reduced sales to minors and purchases for them by strangers. The next target is recruiting adult family and friends to the fight.
This requires a change in attitude, said William Manov, director of the Santa Cruz County Alcohol and Drug Program.
“With 73 percent of youth getting alcohol from people they know, it’s absolutely critical that we change the social norms of whether that’s cool,” he said.
Advocates Say Misconceptions Must End
Researcher Stacy Saetta emphasized three major misconceptions that outreach must change:
â€" Alcohol is harmless.
â€" Alcohol use by teens is inevitable.
â€" It’s safer if kids drink at home.
Sergeant Johnson expressed particular concern about the trend of parents hosting underage drinking.
“Adult provision seems to be a lot higher than it used to be,” she said. “Parents think (home) is a safe environment, but they’re allowing (youth) to do something they’re not mature enough to handle.”
Denise Gannon has been at the forefront of the sea change in attitudes about smoking as the prevention program administrator at Pajaro Valley Prevention and Student Assistance. She believes the same shift is possible for underage drinking.
“We know that as parents of preschoolers, we are our children’s first teacher,” she said. “We need to take back that role.”
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