| Abstract: | New York State raised its minimum drinking age from 19 to 21 years on December 1, 1985. To examine the effects of this change, data were collected from three college samples: 9.5 months before the law changed, 2.5 months postchange, and 14.5 months postchange. In each sample, students in three age groups were surveyed about their weekly consumption and the location of their drinking: illegal group (age ≤ 18 years), target group (19-20 year olds), and legals (age ≥ 21 years). It was hypothesized that postchange samples in the illegal and target groups would exhibit greater abstention rates, reduced drinks/week and drinking days/week, and a shift in drinking locations. It was found that target subjects exhibited decreased drinking days/week but there were no changes in abstention rates or drinks/week. Consistent with prediction, illegal and target samples evidenced a postchange shift in the drinking venue from licensed to unlicensed locations. Also, illegal subjects reported doing more drinking in automobiles after the law change than before. The findings suggest that the law change had a minimal impact on the quantity of alcohol consumed by underaged student drinkers but a dramatic effect on where they consume alcohol. |
