THE EFFECT OF LEGAL DRINKING AGE ON FATAL INJURIES

While the effect of legal drinking age on the involvement of young drivers in motor vehicle crashes has been researched thoroughly, the potential effect of legal drinking age on other alcohol-related injuries has been neglected. The purpose of this study is to examine the relationship between legal drinking age and fatal injuries including: pedestrians, motorcyclists, drownings, homicides, and suicides, among others. A quasi-experimental design, the multiple-time-series, has been selected to assess the effect of raising the legal drinking age on alcohol-related unintentional and intentional injury deaths among adolescents targeted by drinking age legislation. Computerized mortality data from the National Center for Health Statistics for the years 1978-1982 will be examined. States raising their legal drinking age during this period will be paired with states whose drinking age laws remained unchanged. In each state sampled, the incidence of traumatic deaths among teens targeted by drinking age legislation, generally youth 18 to 20 years, will be compared to the rate in their proximal age peers, 15-17, and 21 to 24 years. Thus, three comparisons will be made, time, state, and age group, in order to assess the effect of raising the legal drinking age on alcohol-related traumatic deaths.