High risk drinking is when a person consumers several drinking in one sitting. For men this is 5 or more drinks in 2 hours and women would need to consumer 4 or more drinks in this same time period. The facts are out there that this kind of drinking is dangerous because it is linked to dangerous driving, assault, risky sex and long-term illness. Yet we know that ND holds the number one position for having the most youth ages 15-20 who participate in this kind of high risk drinking. What can you do to help your young adult avoid this behavior or stop if they are already an active participant?
Research on campus’ in North Dakota have shown that having fun, crazy alcohol free late night events available for students gives them alternatives to this kind of behavior. So if your child is on a campus, encourage these events. If your child is not on a campus, build a relationship If your child is already involved in high risk drinking, checkout Rethinking Drinking (http://rethinkingdrinking.niaaa.nih.gov/ ) to help yourself learn about lower risk drinking. Having a open conversation about drinking and what the effects are may not be popular with your young adult, but if done in the right tone could show that you love your
Talk with your child about their reasons for using alcohol and how those reason may contradict with their goals.