Underage Population Research Articles

Reducing drinking among junior enlisted Air Force members in five communities: early findings of the EUDL program's influence on self-reported drinking behaviors.

In the fall of 2006, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention awarded discretionary grants to five communities in four states as part of the Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws initiative. These 3-year grants were designed to support implementation of a set of interventions using an environmental strategies approach to reduce drinking and associated alcohol-related misconducts among active-duty Air Force members ages 18-25, with a specific focus on the underage population. The current article presents findings from Year 1 of the evaluation. Data on alcohol use were obtained from a large-scale, anonymous survey that fielded in the spring of 2006 (i.e., pretest) and the spring of 2008 (i.e., posttest) from a stratified random sample of Air Force members at five demonstration and five comparison communities. The percentage of junior enlisted personnel at risk for an alcohol problem dropped 6.6% in the Air Force overall during the last 2 years but dropped as much as 13.6% and 9.8% in two Arizona demonstration communities that implemented the intervention. The first-year results suggest that the Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws intervention may have been one factor that helped to reduce the percentage of junior enlisted Air Force members at risk for an alcohol problem in the demonstration communities.

Epidemiology of Pediatric Eye Injury in Split-Dalmatia County

Aims: The aim of this study was to assess the etiological factors and circumstances associated with the occurrence of eye injuries in children in Split-Dalmatia County, and to assess the visual outcomes of such injuries. Methods: All 106 cases of pediatric eye trauma presenting to the Clinical Hospital Split, during a 4-year period, were identified by a medical record search. Results: The annual calculated incidence of serious eye injuries in pediatric patients of Split-Dalmatia County that required hospitalization was 22.5 per 100,000 in the underage population. The most common causes of ocular injury were blunt objects and missiles, which mostly caused contusions and lamellar lacerations, and sharp objects, which mostly caused penetrating eye injury. In 99 (90.83%) eyes, the injuries were mechanical. Open globe injuries were significantly severer than closed globe injuries. Final visual acuity was better than upon admission in 78.10% of cases. The annual incidence of pediatric monocular blindness in Split-Dalmatia County was 0.63 per 100,000 in the underage population. Conclusions: Eye trauma in children occurs most frequently outdoors and generally results from the use of blunt objects. Prevention of ocular injury requires greater education of both children and their parents and adult supervision of children, especially while at play.

Go out or stay in? The effects of zero tolerance laws on alcohol use and drinking and driving patterns among college students

Zero tolerance laws make it illegal per se for anyone under age 21 to drive with any measurable amount of blood alcohol. Although a link has been established between zero tolerance laws and lower motor vehicle fatalities, research has not produced strong evidence on how zero tolerance laws influence individual alcohol use and drinking and driving behaviors. Using a unique data set and a difference-in-difference-in-difference-type research design, we are able to analyze a number of pathways through which zero tolerance laws can work among an important underage population, college students. We find that zero tolerance laws reduce drinking and driving among college students. Further analysis of our detailed alcohol use measures suggests that zero tolerance laws are particularly effective at reducing the probability of driving after drinking for those who reported drinking away from home.

Posted Warning Placard: Effects on College Students Knowledge of Alcohol Facts and Hazards

Federal legislation requires a warning label on all alcoholic beverage containers sold in the U.S. However, this method of communicating the hazards of alcohol consumption is lacking because (a) it is not designed to reach the underage population, (b) the warning label is small and contains limited information, and (c) the information is not communicated when alcoholic beverages are not served in their original container (e.g., by the glass). The present study was conducted to determine if a posted placard would effectively convey alcohol-related information to college students. A warning sign containing this information was field-tested in eight fraternities assigned to conditions of a Solomon four-group (pre-post) design. In the warning intervention conditions, signs were posted at various locations in fraternity houses. A questionnaire was distributed that assessed knowledge of five categories of hazards associated with alcohol consumption. Results indicated that, in general, students were knowledgeable about alcohol consumption facts and hazards, but that knowledge of alcohol-related information significantly increased as a result of exposure to the warning.