Tedd McDonald, director of the Master of Health Science program, and Sandina Begic, researcher and project coordinator for the Center for Health Policy, led a workshop on “Idaho Adult Perceptions of Underage Drinking” at the Fifth Annual Northwest Alcohol Conference, which was held in Boise on July 19-20.
The workshop focused on the results of a statewide survey of Idaho adults that was funded through a $27,000 contract with the Idaho Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws Task Force and the Idaho Department of Juvenile Corrections. The survey was completed by nearly 800 adults through Idaho during the summer of 2011. The respondents, of whom 31 percent reported having children living in their homes, completed items about problems associated with alcohol use, youth access to alcohol, advertisement of alcohol products, and general knowledge and beliefs about alcohol.
Key findings from the survey indicate that while there is a perception that underage drinking is common in Idaho, there is support for the enforcement of laws regarding underage drinking and some support for restrictions on the advertisement of alcohol products. McDonald and Begic also shared how the 2011 results compared among demographic groups and with results of a similar survey conducted in 2005.