Refusing to Drink
While peer pressure is one of the main factors in underage binge drinking, a person’s belief in their ability to refuse to drink is one of the main protective factors against underage drinking. This is called “Drink refusal self-efficacy” or “DRSE.”
In other words, confidence in one’s ability to refuse alcohol helps a person resist peer pressure to drink. Understanding that drinking may have negative consequences also plays a role in helping a person resist alcohol. However, if a person expects good outcomes from drinking, they are more likely to drink, even if they feel confident in their ability to refuse. (Foster, 2016)
How can you help?
Talk with your teen about their ability to refuse alcohol. Take our DRSE quiz to assess and get feedback on their confidence levels. Discuss how refusing alcohol keeps them safe. Discuss the potential negative consequences of alcohol use. Have them practice refusal skills. We’ll talk more about those later in this lesson.
If you feel that your teen needs a stronger intervention and training to deal with drinking, check out our alcohol intervention course, Under the Influence, which has been proven to reduce high-risk drinking, increase students’ confidence in making a change in their drinking, and help them identify strategies they can use for making a change.