Should the Drinking Age be 18 Years Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Should the Drinking Age be 18 Years - Essay Example The push would even be more for an adult, at 18, who would be allowed all other privileges of an adult apart from alcohol consumption. It would cause a feeling of being unjustly targeted resulting in resistance to the implied injustice in an attempt to regain control. (2012). Therefore, such persons would be driven more to drinking, referred to as reactance motivation by Hanson (2012). Since these persons are already adults, they should be allowed to drink to avoid such eventualities. Such a viewpoint is useful to examine due to the fact that as long as the crimes associated with alcohol are limited to the actual age of consumption; very little positive effects to society are instigated. On the flip side, if the bulk of the crime that is a function of alcohol consumption can be linked to those crimes committed under its influence (which has been proven to be the case), then such crimes should be treated distinctly separately from those associated with merely imbibing alcohol while un derage. Moreover, due to the fact that research indicates that reducing the drinking age would have minimal behavioral change, it is not really a contributing factor to modifying the behavior of the target demographic. Such a change would only be achieved through proper training, giving responsibilities and holding one accountable for whatever actions. Therefore, with all these benefits attached to the raised drinking age, it would be beneficial to reduce the drinking age to 18. Hanson, D. J. (2012).