Finally, prevention and intervention can also take place within the various communities that teens inhabit. For instance, adolescents spend the majority of their time during these developmental years in school or participating in sports or clubs on campus after class. While some extracurricular activities are not traditionally associated with alcohol (e.g., math club), others seem to be intrinsically tied to drinking within American culture (e.g. some sports). Although the schools themselves are not providing students with alcohol, their willingness to “look the other way” may be far different for intoxicated boys versus girls. Strict public policy and consistent, fair punishment for alcohol use by students while on school property could not only assist in preventing additional drinking episodes at school, but may also reduce the discrepancy in heavy drinking between boys and girls in late adolescence.
