Teen Survey
There's been talk in Cheshire of doing a survey of our kids on "risky behavior," such as drug/alcohol use and sexual activity. As far as I know, nothing has happened with it. But the NH Register is reporting (by Maria Garriga) that the results of a statewide survey have just been released. And I've heard that, on average, CT kids start drinking alcohol at age 11. This is concerning.
Tim White
Town Council, 4th District
TimWhite98@yahoo.com
4 comments:
The claim that 11 is the average age of initiation of alcohol use for teens in CT is highly misleading. I first saw this statistic in the add for the Alcohol Awareness Forum in Cheshire and thought the age of 11 was far too young. I asked Michelle Piccerillo at Youth Social Services for the data from which the the age of 11 was derived. She refered me to someone at the Connecticut Coalition to Stop Underage Drinking who led me to this survey. The survey only asked 8th graders who currently drink alcohol at what age that started drinking, and the average age for this group was 11. Clearly, the age would be older if the survey included all teenagers. A study that directly addressed the question at what age do CT teens start drinking alcohol found an average age of 15.6 years. This is not to minimize the problem of teenage alcohol abuse, but the problem should not be overstated by using misleading statistics.
Whether a child is 11 or 15.6, it's still a problem. And, for the fact that 8th graders admitted to drinking at the age of 11 is also disturbing. Whether the stats are misleading or not isn't the issue. The fact is, it is clearly a problem no matter what age children under the age of 21 start drinking. It's a problem nationally and it is a very big problem in Connecticut as a whole.
Underage drinking presents a problem. But it cannot be solved without a clear understanding of the nature of the problem. And we cannot understand the nature of the problem if the agencies charged with studying underage drinking rely on and use shody science. And we cannot expect those agencies to change their practices if the public, due either to ignorance or laziness, is unwilling to challenge them.
I agree with anon and emma.
And for purposes of understanding the possible consequences of binge drinking and anon's point that "it is clearly a problem no matter what age children under the age of 21 start drinking." I offer this... someone here in Cheshire (whom I like and respect) directed me to this website for a glimpse into some of what is currently happening at colleges around the country. (WARNING: If you browse this website, some photos are sexually explicit. So you may find some of the photos extremely graphic and disturbing.) When looking at this, I think it's fair to say that whether you're 11, 15.6 or college age, binge drinking and the aftermath are a real problem.
To emma's point... "Underage drinking presents a problem. But it cannot be solved without a clear understanding of the nature of the problem."
I agree. As with any problem, I think you first need to get people talking and they must all agree to the facts before trying to find a solution. If you don't all agree to the facts, then you run the risk of people making arguments against your case based on legitimate, but impertinent, points.
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