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Reducing Harms From Youth Drinking

NCJ Number
218079
Journal
Journal of Alcohol and Drug Education Volume: 50 Issue: 4 Dated: December 2006 Pages: 67-87
Author(s)
Stanton Peele Ph.D.
Date Published
December 2006
Length
21 pages
Annotation
This article examines whether the socialization of moderate drinking can be incorporated as a “harm reduction” technique for young people and youthful drinking, specifically on college students.
Abstract
Moderation training for problem drinkers is one form of harm reduction. Research on training heavy or problematic collegiate drinkers to moderate their usage has proven highly successful, although the approach has been limited in its utilization across the United States. There is no single optimal policy for youth drinking. There are dangers and drawbacks to both zero-tolerance and moderate drinking approaches. Nevertheless, given the current policy imbalance, favoring the former (zero-tolerance), the following harm reduction policies should be considered by collegiate officials and health professionals: (1) advantages of moderate drinking established by epidemiologic research should be acknowledged and encouraged as a model for alcohol use on campus; (2) since insisting on abstinence does not guarantee the absence of drinking, harm-reduction techniques should be developed and implemented; and (3) approaches that recognize and encourage moderation are particularly appropriate for younger drinkers for whom moderation is achievable. American alcohol education and prevention efforts for youth emphasize abstinence. However, the data reviewed shows that the current efforts to encourage abstinence have not reduced binge drinking and alcohol dependence. Approaches that focus on prevention problems rather than on abstinence per se, called harm reduction, may have value in reversing problems created by youthful drinking. Tables, references