Living close to where alcohol is sold could affect teen drinking

Peer pressure may be a key cause of teen drinking, but it might not be the only factor.

A new study reveals that the closer teens live to where alcohol is sold, the greater the risk may be of binge drinking and driving under the influence.

Researchers from the Pardee RAND Graduate School in Santa Monica looked at the number and location of alcohol retailers in zones around homes in California to see what relationship existed between proximity to those stores and drinking in children ages 12 to 17. They found a significant association among homes within walking distance of places selling alcohol (about half a mile) and evidence of binge drinking and driving after drinking, and predict that moving those stores and restaurants farther away could reduce those numbers.

The study also noted that alcohol is more readily available in minority and lower-income areas. In predominantly white neighborhoods, within a half-mile there are an average 5.5 locations with active alcohol licenses. In predominantly African American neighborhoods it’s 6.4 locations; in predominantly Latino, 8.6; and in predominantly Asian, 9.5. Researchers point out that living in areas with higher alcohol sales could also mean more exposure to violent crime and drunk driving.

"Our study suggests that living in close proximity to alcohol outlets is a risk factor for youth," write the authors, whose study appears online this month in the American Journal of Public Health. "In California, retail licenses are not typically approved within 100 feet of a residence or within 600 feet of schools, public playgrounds and nonprofit youth facilities, but proximity by itself is not sufficient to deny a license. Our study suggests that more attention on the proximity rule is needed and environmental interventions need to curb opportunities for youth to get alcohol from commercial sources, whether being through tightening licensure or enforcing minimum age drinking laws."

-- Jeannine Stein

Photo credit: Charlie Litchfield / AP

Comments

[D. Garza]

For those of us who grew up and/or live in neighborhoods with too many liquor stores, this study confirms what we've known all along. This is the kind of research communities need in order to apply pressure on their elected officials to begin making zoning changes to make our neighborhoods safer.