Verified Document

Lowering The Drinking Age The Term Paper

e. race and was an allowable and supported social stigma, and yet when faced with the real life decision to break the taboo and serve Chinese people they did so with little hesitation and then effectively lied about it in self report. (Pager & Lincoln, 2005, p. 355) Drinking and driving is a seriously socially charged issue that could have the same self-report results if given the correct avenue to do so. The self-report dogmatic dialogue regarding drinking and driving is an absolute rejection of the behavior (even after 1-2 drinks as is asked in the New Zealand Study) and yet this is an attitude and a self-report dogma, what we would say when offered the social choice, not a real reflection of how individuals would behave if given the opportunity to drink and drive. Another fault I found within the New Zealand study is that the study looked at a group of college age individuals who were all 20 years old, even though the drinking age had recently been lowered to 18 years of age. The significance of this oversight is that the 18 and 19-year-olds who were likely even more profoundly affected by the chance (as they would have had to wait 2-3 years rather than 1 to drink legally) were ignored. The twenty-year-old (college students) on the other hand reiterated dogmatic feelings regarding DUI driving that would be expected of almost any group and even had negative words to say about younger legal drinkers, and that fact that they would choose to drink at locations where younger drinkers were not found. I fail to see the importance of this issue other than to say that the social stigma of youthful drinking is alive and well among people who are but 1-2 years older than their legal drinking partners. (Brownfield, Fernando & Halberstadt, 2003, p. 22)

Conclusion:

The discussion associated with these two works served to answer a number of questions regarding the variety and vastness of the sociological and other scientific research discussions regarding the effects of the lowered drinking age on DUI behaviors. The work demonstrates that there is a significant difference between the manner in which...

The formative research that reviewed real incidence of DUI behavior (and minimal self report of drinking and driving) gave credence to the idea that there is a significant correlation between the drinking age and the number of DUI incidents and accidents. (Wagenaar & Toomey, 2002) While the New Zealand study gave greater precedence to the need to reevaluate the foundations of self-report attitudinal research results, once again to call into question the survey form of data collection, especially with regard to highly charges social issues such as drinking and driving. (Brownfield, Fernando & Halberstadt, 2003) the New Zealand Study could be expanded to include a larger age range but could also be more reflective if the group was larger and incidence of actual DUI events were recorded rather than the individuals dogmatic feeling about driving while intoxicated. The Wagenaar & Toomey study was enlightening and upon further analysis could result in a whole set of how the issue could better studied.
References

Brownfield, K., Fernando, K., & Halberstadt, J. (2003). Indirect Effects of Lowering the Drinking Age on New Zealand Students' Alcohol-Related Behaviours and Attitudes. New Zealand Journal of Psychology, 32(1), 22. Retrieved May 28, 2008, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5001970912

Fagan, J. (2005, September). Adolescents, Maturity, and the Law: Why Science and Development Matter in Juvenile Justice. The American Prospect, 16, 5.

Fillmore, M.T., Carscadden, J.L., & Vogel-Sprott, M. (1998). Alcohol, Cognitive Impairment and Expectancies. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 59(2), 174.

A and Lincoln Q. Walking the Talk? What Employers Say vs. What They Do. American Sociological Review 70: 2005, 355-380.

Sarkar, S., & Andreas, M. (2004). Acceptance of and Engagement in Risky Driving Behaviors by Teenagers. Adolescence, 39(156), 687.

Wagenaar, a.C., & Toomey, T.L. (2002). Effects of Minimum Drinking Age Laws: Review and…

Sources used in this document:
References

Brownfield, K., Fernando, K., & Halberstadt, J. (2003). Indirect Effects of Lowering the Drinking Age on New Zealand Students' Alcohol-Related Behaviours and Attitudes. New Zealand Journal of Psychology, 32(1), 22. Retrieved May 28, 2008, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5001970912

Fagan, J. (2005, September). Adolescents, Maturity, and the Law: Why Science and Development Matter in Juvenile Justice. The American Prospect, 16, 5.

Fillmore, M.T., Carscadden, J.L., & Vogel-Sprott, M. (1998). Alcohol, Cognitive Impairment and Expectancies. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 59(2), 174.

A and Lincoln Q. Walking the Talk? What Employers Say vs. What They Do. American Sociological Review 70: 2005, 355-380.
Wagenaar, a.C., & Toomey, T.L. (2002). Effects of Minimum Drinking Age Laws: Review and Analyses of the Literature from 1960 to 2000. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 63(2), 206. Retrieved May 28, 2008, from Questia database: http://www.questia.com/PM.qst?a=o&d=5000781023
Cite this Document:
Copy Bibliography Citation

Related Documents

Drinking Age Lowering the Drinking
Words: 2132 Length: 7 Document Type: Term Paper

The question isn't whether there should be controls, but which controls work best. What has proven around the world to work best is a combination of reasonable laws backed by strong social sanctions. But in the U.S. we treat our emerging adults as infants and get infantile behavior as a result…if adults would learn to temper their patronizing attitudes toward young men and women, more maturity, self-restraint, and social

Drinking Age Values and the
Words: 1913 Length: 6 Document Type: Essay

Accordingly, "the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that raising the drink age to 21 has reduced traffic fatalities involving 18- to 20-year-old drivers by 13% and has saved an estimated 19,121 lives since 1975." (T, 1) Conclusion: More than anything though, these statistics seem to confirm the fears of both university leaders and law enforcement agencies, who argue that age-based prohibition has made it more difficult to connect with, cooperate

Drinking Age the Minimum Drinking
Words: 602 Length: 2 Document Type: Essay

While many think that if someone is old enough to go to war, one is old enough to drink, they miss the fact that going to war is a voluntary act. No one forces an individual to join any armed force. The decision is one that the individual makes for himself and there is no standing behind him or her forcing him or her to do so. The drinking age

Reducing the Legal Drinking Age in America
Words: 633 Length: 2 Document Type: Essay

Lowering Drinking Age in the United States The drinking age in the United States has been 21 years old since 1984 because it was enacted in law. However, in the past few years, there have been numerous calls to lower the drinking age from 21 to 18 years. These calls have generated significant controversy and concern throughout the country since the issue can be approached from two general paradigms that shape

U.S. Drinking Age Stay at 21 or
Words: 2284 Length: 6 Document Type: Thesis

U.S. Drinking Age stay at 21 or be lowered to 18? The 26th amendment, on July 1, 1971 was passed which dropped the least age to vote from twenty one to eighteen years old (Madison, 2006). Soon after the amendment was approved twenty nine states all over the nation began bringing down their drinking age from 21 to 18 years of age. This new freedom for young adults did not

Legal Drinking Age the Drinking Age at
Words: 828 Length: 2 Document Type: Research Paper

Legal Drinking Age The drinking age at 21 in the United States is draconian, placing our country on par with the most socially repressed in the world. "Most drinking ages worldwide are at maximum 18, if not less, which makes sense for legal drinking ages. And provided you act like a grown up, you can probably be served a cerveza with that fish taco anywhere, regardless of age," (Crislip). I have

Sign Up for Unlimited Study Help

Our semester plans gives you unlimited, unrestricted access to our entire library of resources —writing tools, guides, example essays, tutorials, class notes, and more.

Get Started Now