Girls and Drinking - Why NOT to drink

• When asked, mothers and daughters agree the top reason teens should not drink alcohol is the potential to lose control and make bad choices (79% and 82%, respectively).  Beyond this, moms’ reasoning focuses on safety and the law, whereas daughters are more concerned with doing something regretful.

• Drunk driving is the second reason moms believe teens should not drink.  Doing something regrettable is second for daughters, with drunk driving a very close third in their list of reasons why teens should not drink.

• Moms were more firm than daughters in saying teens should not drink alcohol because “it's against the law” and “can hurt physical and mental development.”

• Moms feel safety and school performance are more compelling reasons for teens not to drink than it not being cool.  Rounding out the reasons moms cite why teens should not drink alcohol include they might get physically injured while drinking (47%), alcohol can hurt their performance at school (29%), can lead to consequences at home (24%), can affect their reputation at school (16%), drinking is not cool (11%), and can hurt their athletic performance (8%).

• Nearly one-third of girls report getting in trouble at home is a top reason why teens choose not to drink ahead of their reputation and school and athletic performance.  Additional reasons girls report teens should not drink alcohol include getting physically injured while drinking (45%), can lead to consequences at home (32%), can hurt their performance at school (28%), can affect their reputation at school (18%), drinking is not cool (17%), and can hurt their athletic performance (10%).

• Moms and daughters agree, the top reasons why teens choose to drink alcohol is to fit in with friends and succumbing to peer pressure.  Eight out of ten moms and 73% of teenage daughters cited to fit in as the top reason to drink.  More moms reported peer pressure as a reason to drink than daughters — 74% compared to 63%.

• Rounding out the top five reasons moms cited for why teens drink was to rebel.  While not ranked as highly on their list of reasons for drinking, 41% of daughters said teens drink to rebel (compared to 45% of moms).

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Top_Reasons_Teens_Should_Choose_Not_to_Drink.pdf