Dangerous Thirst

Department of Epidemiology

If you want policies that prevent deaths, car crashes and other social costs associated with alcohol use, first you need to understand young people. Nine- to 11-year-olds talk about the harm of alcohol use, but a few years later, the same kids perceive being drunk as “fun,” says Debra Furr-Holden, who specializes in drug and alcohol dependence epidemiology.

These shifting attitudes influence young people’s behavior and can quickly lead to problems. Eighteen- to 20-year-olds with any blood alcohol content are 10 times more likely to be involved in an automobile crash as those with no alcohol in their blood. Studying alcohol and youth behavior in Baltimore, Washington, D.C., and the San Francisco Bay area, Furr-Holden has uncovered some disturbing insights, including: forty percent of young people who frequent nightclubs and bars are “not employed, not in college, and already have the beginning of pathology in the use of alcohol and drugs.”

For this population, a policy that lowers the minimum legal drinking age, for example, would be “100 percent to their detriment,” says Furr-Holden, who received a $3 million Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers for her work.