Myself
U.S. Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention
September 2012
Melodee Hanes, Acting Administrator
Underage Drinking
Underage drinking is a widespread offense that can have serious physical, neurological, and legal consequences. Problematically, it has become quite commonplace. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) works to eliminate underage consumption of alcohol and provide guidance for communities developing prevention and treatment programs. OJJDP created the underage drinking bulletin series to educate practitioners and policymakers about the problems youth face when they abuse alcohol and to provide evidence-based guidelines. The series presents findings from a study on preventing underage drinking in the Air Force as well as a literature review of the effects and consequences of underage drinking, best practices for community supervision of underage drinkers and legal issues surrounding underage drinking, and practice guidelines for working with underage drinkers. The series highlights the dangers of underage drinking. Hopefully, the information it provides will support communities in their efforts to reduce alcohol use by minors through the use of evidencebased strategies and practices.
Effects and Consequences of Underage Drinking
Highlights
This bulletin presents findings from a literature review that investigated how underage drinking can affect a youth’s physical, emotional, and neurological health. In it, the authors discuss the legal, neurological, economic, and personal consequences youth can face when they make the decision to begin drinking. The authors highlight the following points: • The human brain continues to develop until a person is around age 25. Underage drinking may impair this neurological development, causing youth to make irresponsible decisions, encounter memory lapses, or process and send neural impulses more slowly. • Underage
September 2012
Melodee Hanes, Acting Administrator
Underage Drinking
Underage drinking is a widespread offense that can have serious physical, neurological, and legal consequences. Problematically, it has become quite commonplace. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) works to eliminate underage consumption of alcohol and provide guidance for communities developing prevention and treatment programs. OJJDP created the underage drinking bulletin series to educate practitioners and policymakers about the problems youth face when they abuse alcohol and to provide evidence-based guidelines. The series presents findings from a study on preventing underage drinking in the Air Force as well as a literature review of the effects and consequences of underage drinking, best practices for community supervision of underage drinkers and legal issues surrounding underage drinking, and practice guidelines for working with underage drinkers. The series highlights the dangers of underage drinking. Hopefully, the information it provides will support communities in their efforts to reduce alcohol use by minors through the use of evidencebased strategies and practices.
Effects and Consequences of Underage Drinking
Highlights
This bulletin presents findings from a literature review that investigated how underage drinking can affect a youth’s physical, emotional, and neurological health. In it, the authors discuss the legal, neurological, economic, and personal consequences youth can face when they make the decision to begin drinking. The authors highlight the following points: • The human brain continues to develop until a person is around age 25. Underage drinking may impair this neurological development, causing youth to make irresponsible decisions, encounter memory lapses, or process and send neural impulses more slowly. • Underage