NCJ Number
109741
Journal
Alcohol, Drugs, and Driving Volume: 3 Issue: 3-4 Dated: (July-December 1987) Pages: 119-124
Date Published
1987
Length
6 pages
Annotation
A series of three Toronto (Canada) studies profiled youth who violated Toronto's minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) of 19 years old, compared them with delinquents and nondelinquents, and examined whether the MLDA law had any specific deterrent effect.
Abstract
The first study conducted in 1977, the year before the MLDA law was raised from 18 to 19 years old, focused on about 2,500 16- to 18-year-old youths charged with MLDA offenses of minor consumption and/or possession in Toronto. The average underage drinking offender was a 17-year-old male, from a middle-class family, living at home with his parents, and attending school. Over half had previous involvement with the judicial system. A second study interviewed 104 youths charged with MLDA offenses, 32 youths charged with criminal code offenses, and 31 youths with no records. The MLDA violators differed from the nondelinquent group but were similar to the delinquent group. Telephone interviews with 55 of those MLDA offenders studied in 1977 were conducted approximately 1 1/2 years later. The new MLDA law had no apparent effect on their drinking patterns. Both MLDA offenders and delinquents are high-risk youth in need of intervention for both deviancy and alcohol problems. 20 references.