U/CL Pathfinders

DRINKING AGE DEBATE

 

DEFINITION: For years the age limit for drinking differed from state to state, but by 1987 all had raised the drinking age to 21. Now some believe that it should be lowered again to 18. (“Underage Drinking” CQ Researcher, March 13, 1992, p228ff)

 

NARROW THE TOPIC:

• Are the age-21 drinking laws enforceable?

• Do these laws lower traffic fatalities and accidents?

• Will lowering the drinking age to 18 increase teen suicides?

• Do age-21 drinking laws encourage alcohol abuse among teens?

• What effect does having the drinking age at 21 have on crime?

• Who should decide the drinking age of youth; the state or the parents?

• Should alcohol education be used to combat drunk driving rather then age-21 drinking laws?

• Do teenagers have the maturity to handle alcohol?

 

LINCC SUBJECT HEADINGS: Drinking age, Youth—United States—Alcohol use, Drinking and traffic accidents—United States, Liquor laws—United States, Age-Law-United States.

 

SPECIALIZED SOURCES SHELVED IN THE REFERENCE COLLECTION:

Drugs, Alcohol, and Tobacco: Learning About Addictive Behavior	REF HV 5804 .D78 2003 v.1
Adolescence in America	REF HQ796 .A33247 2001
Encyclopedia of Drugs, Alcohol & Addictive Behavior	REF HV5804 .E53 2001 V.2
Gale Encyclopedia of Childhood & Adolescence	REF HQ 772 .G27 1998

 

AVAILABLE AT THE REFERENCE DESK:

CQ Researcher  “Drinking on Campus” 3/20/98 p.241

Current Controversies: Alcoholism;  Teens and Alcohol (also available in the Opposing Viewpoints Database)

Opposing Viewpoints: Teens at Risk; Alcohol

Issues & Controversies: "Minimum Drinking Age"5/12/06

 

E-BOOKS

National Research Council: Reducing Underage Drinking (e-book)

http://www.nap.edu/books/0309089352/html/

 

STATISTICS:

Alcohol, Tobacco, and Illicit Drugs (Ref Desk also in Opposing Viewpoints Database)

Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics   (also at Reference Desk)

Statistical Abstract of the United States  (also at Reference Desk)

Millennials: Americans Born 1977 to 1994: The American Generations Series REF HQ796 .M4797 2004 p.101-103

Partners for Substance Abuse Prevention http://www.preventionpartners.samhsa.gov/foc0414_alcohol_p2.asp

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration http://oas.samhsa.gov/alcohol.cfm

 

ELECTRONIC INDEXES:

Academic Search Complete

Expanded Academic ASAP

OmniFile Full Text Mega

Health and Wellness Resource Center

Issues & Controversies

 

FULL-TEXT NEWSPAPERS:  America's Newspapers

 

SUGGESTED INTERNET SITES:

International Center for Alcohol Policies: Drinking Age	http://www.icap.org/ICAP/policy_issues/young_peoples_drinking/index.html
Americans for a Society Free from Age Restrictions: Drinking Age	http://www.asfar.org/drinking/
MADD Under 21	http://www.madd.org/under21/
National Youth Rights Association: Drinking Age	http://www.youthrights.org/drinkingage.shtml

Underage Drinking Enforcement Training	http://www.udetc.org/index.htm
Harvard University College Alcohol Study	http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/cas/

 

CITING YOUR SOURCES:

University/College Library Citing Electronic Resources

http://ucl.broward.edu/Cite_Your_Sources.htm

SM 4/04 rev 4/08 ck2

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