Propensity for and Correlates of Alcohol Sales to Underage Youth

• NCJ Number: 214757
• Journal: Journal of Alcohol and Drug Education Volume: 50 Issue: 2 Dated: June 2006 Pages: 25-42
• Author(s): Heather Britt; Traci L. Toomey; William Dunsmuir; Alexander C. Wagenaar
• Date Published: June 2006
• Length: 18 pages
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America
• Note: *This document is currently unavailable from NCJRS.

Annotation

This study examined the propensity for and correlates of alcohol sales to underage youth in the late 1990s following enhanced restrictions of youth access to alcohol.

Abstract

Results indicated that sales of alcohol to minors were significantly reduced during the 1990s. Research from the early 1990s indicated rates of alcohol sales to underage buyers that ranged from 45 percent to 88 percent while this study found that the sales rate to pseudo-underage buyers in 1997 was 29 percent and in 1998 was 23 percent. However, pseudo-underage buyers were successful in purchasing alcohol without showing age identification in nearly one in four purchase attempts and when multiple attempts to purchase alcohol were made, 74 percent of establishments made at least one sale to a minor. Establishment characteristics related to the likelihood of illegal alcohol sales to minors included restaurants without a distinct bar area and establishments with only wine and beer licenses. Purchase attempts before 6:00 p.m. were slightly more likely to result in a sale to an underage person than purchase attempts made after 6:00 p.m. No significant association was found between the likelihood of illegal sales to minors and server characteristics. Findings suggest police may want to target interventions at certain types of establishments at certain types of day. Data were drawn from the Complying with the Minimum Drinking Age (CMDA) Project, a 5-year study using a multi-community time-series design to evaluate the effects of two interventions on propensity to sell alcohol to underage persons in four geographic areas: two large metropolitan cities and two suburban areas. Procedures involved 32 males and females who looked between 17 and 20 years old who attempted to purchase alcohol without showing age identification from 741 licensed alcohol establishments in the study areas between September 1997 and December 1998. Data were coded by buyers and analyzed using bivariate and multivariate analyses as well as backwards-stepwise regression analyses. Table, references