Teenage Binge Drinking: Campaign Strategies and Prevention

Introduction: The Problem of Teenage Binge Drinking

Teenage binge drinking remains a prevalent problem in the United States. As teenagers learn to socialize and transition into adulthood, many may engage in drinking as a type of leisure pursuit. While social drinking contributes to teenage alcohol consumption, a large portion of it falls under the category of binge drinking. Binge drinking — especially heavy binge drinking — can lead to the development of alcohol use disorders. While anti-alcohol campaigns have been implemented in the past, some have failed to appeal to youth because they did not utilize social media or include popular youth leaders. Beliefs surrounding binge drinking may also be distorted by depression in teens. By examining the outcomes of focus groups and identifying the messages most effective at discouraging binge drinking, this paper proposes a framework from which an anti-binge drinking campaign could be built.

Teenagers may experience problems with drugs and alcohol as they grow and mature into adulthood. Such pursuits are known as negative leisure pursuits and may include sexuality and gambling, among others. While some of these pursuits have leveled off (marijuana) and others have reached an all-time low (cigarette smoking), alcohol remains a major problem for teenagers (McLean & Hurd, 2015). This is largely because of binge drinking. Social drinking makes up a smaller part of alcohol consumption than binge drinking, making binge drinking the main alcohol-related problem facing teenagers today. "Binge drinking is consuming a large amount of alcohol over a short period of time. This means that at least twice within the past two weeks, males have consumed five drinks in a row and females four" (McLean & Hurd, 2015, p. 114).

Statistics reveal binge drinking among adolescents declined from 41.2% to 23.7% in 2012 (McLean & Hurd, 2015). However, because binge drinking can result in aggressiveness, increased sexual activity, blackouts, fighting, and memory loss, the goal is to decrease that percentage to zero. Teenagers as young as 13 have been reported to engage in heavy drinking. "7% of eighth-grade male students and 8% of eighth-grade female students reported heavy drinking. By 12th grade, 28% of males and 18% of females reported heavy drinking" (Milevsky, 2015, p. 164).

Teenage binge drinking can become a major health concern because of the increased likelihood of developing alcoholism early and carrying it into adulthood (Milevsky, 2015). While statistics reveal binge drinking among boys has declined in the last decade, it has remained unchanged for girls over the last fifteen years (Milevsky, 2015). To understand why binge drinking remains a problem in today's society, it is important to understand why teenagers engage in such potentially life-changing behavior. Such information may lead to a successful anti-binge drinking campaign that could help save lives and assist affected teenagers in transitioning successfully into adulthood.

An anti-binge drinking campaign is necessary because of the devastating consequences binge drinking can create for young people. Whether it is a potential for alcoholism or a transition to other, more potent substances, teenagers are at risk for developing unhealthy habits from early binge drinking. Research shows teenagers may binge drink due to a desire for independence (Milevsky, 2015). By engaging in risk-taking behaviors, teenagers feel they can navigate a perceived rite of passage into adulthood.

Along with such notions, many teenagers believe there is nothing wrong with drinking. By viewing drinking as an acceptable activity done with friends or peers, they may see no harm in it, especially if drinking does not occur every night. However, binge drinking can be extremely harmful. It can lead to alcohol poisoning and may make someone more likely to experience sexual assault or contract sexually transmitted diseases (Milevsky, 2015). Furthermore, binge drinking can create a false sense of invulnerability that may lead to criminal activity with lasting negative consequences (McLean & Hurd, 2015).

Teenagers must be educated on the dangers of alcohol and binge drinking. They must understand what binge drinking can lead to in order to avoid problems as they mature into adults. An anti-binge drinking campaign focused on education and awareness can help parents cope with the potential dangers by raising their awareness of the prevalence of teen binge drinking, while helping teens understand the negative consequences of such behavior. A study is therefore crucial to provide the information needed for effective campaign implementation.

Literature Review

This literature review covers several key areas related to teenage binge drinking: the Health Belief Model, the most affected populations, past studies on teenage binge drinking, and anti-alcohol campaigns directed at youth. It is meant to serve as a basis from which an analysis can be made regarding which efforts will produce the best outcomes for an anti-binge drinking campaign.

The need to understand and reduce teenage binge drinking has led to the development of new theories centered on the Health Belief Model. One such theory is the multitheory model of health behavior change, which involves the use of mental stimulation and imagery-based intervention methods to help teenagers by changing motivation, attitudes, and intentions (Sharma, Knowlden, & Nahar, 2017). This is a recently developed theory that has yet to accumulate enough evidence to serve as the sole basis for a study; however, it is a potential avenue to explore in addressing teenage binge drinking.

The Health Belief Model has previously been used as a theoretical framework to help youth deal with binge drinking. One study examined the effects of internet-based interventions and found marked efficacy compared to print-based interventions. Of the articles examined, only a few utilized a theory-based intervention. "Out of 14 articles, only 3 articles utilized a theory-based intervention into the study design and implementation of the intervention. Theories that were identified included Social Cognitive Theory and Health Belief Model, Social Norms Feedback Theory, and Social Norming Theory" (Bhochhibhoya, Hayes, Branscum, & Taylor, 2015, p. 530). The Health Belief Model enables researchers to describe and predict health behaviors by focusing on an individual's beliefs and attitudes (Bhochhibhoya, Hayes, & Branscum, 2015).

When applied to teenage binge drinking, the Health Belief Model may offer a new perspective into why teenagers engage in this behavior by exploring the perceptions and beliefs they hold concerning alcohol consumption and intoxication.

While binge drinking among teens is a problem affecting individuals regardless of class, race, gender, or geographical region, certain demographics point to a higher likelihood of alcohol consumption. Five criteria associated with higher potential for binge drinking are:

1. Males tend to drink more than females.
2. White individuals drink more than Black individuals.
3. People from New Hampshire drink more than people from New York.
4. People from wealthier backgrounds drink more than those from poorer backgrounds.
5. Gay individuals drink more than straight individuals (Fahey & Miller, 2013).

Taking these statistics into consideration, white, gay males from wealthy backgrounds may be most likely to participate in binge drinking compared to any other demographic. Such information can help create a more effective anti-binge drinking campaign by allowing efforts to be focused on the most affected populations.

Past studies on adolescent binge drinking have demonstrated markedly negative effects on the brain, including damage that results in long-term memory issues:

"Adolescent onset of binge drinking predicted poorer performance on a broader range of memory tests, including a more systematic test of spatial recognition memory and an associative learning task. Our results are broadly consistent with findings in rodents that acute alcohol and stress exposure suppress neurogenesis in the adult hippocampus, which in turn impairs performance in high-interference memory tasks, while adolescent onset binge drinking causes more extensive brain damage and cognitive deficits" (Goldstein, Dery, Pilgrim, Ioan, & Becker, 2016, p. 251).

Information such as this can help teenagers understand the long-term consequences of binge drinking. If they learn that binge drinking can impair their memory, they may be more willing to reduce their alcohol consumption to prevent potential brain damage.

The study also provided information on activities that can be affected by poor memory. Tasks like memorization — a major component of learning — can be impaired (Goldstein et al., 2016). This means teenagers who engage in binge drinking may develop learning difficulties that lead to poor academic performance in high school or college. Because academic success relies heavily on memory, this could be a compelling way to communicate the dangers of binge drinking to teenagers.

Another study focused on which drinking styles led to the development of alcohol use disorders (AUD). The study found binge drinking to be one of the drinking patterns associated with AUD. "Patterns of teen drinking characterised by loss of control increase risk for AUD across young adulthood: loss of control over drinking; binge drinking, and heavy binge drinking (one wave OR 2.0, CI 1.4 to 2.8)" (Olsson et al., 2016, p. e010455). Heavy binge drinking demonstrated the highest likelihood of a teen developing AUD. For teenagers to understand the effects of binge drinking, they need to recognize its long-term side effects. With data showing that binge drinking can lead to AUD development, teenagers may be less likely to engage in such behavior.

Anti-drinking campaigns in the past have often been conducted alongside anti-drug campaigns and aimed primarily at youth. One such campaign used mobile media to raise awareness among indigenous youth about the dangers of alcohol consumption. The study aimed to assess audience opinion of the campaign, audience awareness, and any variation in audience behaviors and attitudes toward drinking. Campaign efforts were directed at indigenous youth of the Kimberley and Broome regions through TV and radio.

The study found that "inclusion of local youth in the advertisements and in the design and production of the campaign was a positive factor, and that both Indigenous and non-Indigenous youth use telephones and other aspects of mobile media for social networking and entertainment, displacing television viewing and radio listening to a significant extent" (Lim, 2013, p. 96).

These results indicated the need for future anti-alcohol advertising campaigns to concentrate efforts on social media and mobile technology, and to include local youth or youth leaders who can increase levels of engagement and interest among teenagers. Because teenagers are so active on social media, these platforms represent a strong vehicle for reducing binge drinking while keeping teenagers engaged with campaign messages. Another study focusing on past anti-alcohol campaigns examined what works and what does not in sustaining youth interest.

A 2014 study analyzed the social marketing efforts of Western governments to discourage drinking among youth. The researchers found that promoting negative campaign messages was less effective than promoting positive ones. "Positively framed value propositions that evoke happiness and love are more influential in the processing of an alcohol moderation message for alcohol consumers" (Previte, Russell-Bennett, & Parkinson, 2014, p. 12). Research into the influence of positive sentiments on understanding and processing alcohol moderation messages opens a central pathway for future social marketing efforts and may help redirect the design of anti-alcohol campaigns.