Conduct shoulder tap campaigns
Shoulder tap campaigns are a method used to enforce minimum legal drinking age laws whereby undercover youth, supervised by local law enforcement, approach adults outside alcohol establishments and ask them to purchase alcohol on their behalf. When a violation occurs, law enforcement issues warnings or citations to the adult.
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Effectiveness: X = Too few robust studies to rate effectiveness—or mixed results
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Cost: $$$ = Higher
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Research Amount: ** = 2 to 4 studies but no longitudinal studies
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Public Health Reach: Broad
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Staffing Expertise Needed: Policy advocate
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Target Population: Underage students
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Research Population: General
Effectiveness ratings are based on estimated success in achieving targeted outcomes. Cost ratings are based on a consensus among research team members of the relative program and staff costs for adoption, implementation, and maintenance of a strategy. Actual costs will vary by institution, depending on size, existing programs, and other campus and community factors. Barriers to implementing a strategy include cost and opposition, among other factors. Public health reach refers to the number of students that a strategy affects. Strategies with a broad reach affect all students or a large group of students (e.g., all underage students); strategies with a focused reach affect individuals or small groups of students (e.g., sanctioned students). Research amount/quality refers to the number and design of studies.
- Fabian LEA, Toomey TL, Lenk KM, & Erickson DJ. Where do underage college students get alcohol? Journal of Drug Education, 38(1):15–26, 2008.
- Toomey TL, Fabian LEA, Erickson DJ, & Lenk KM. Propensity for obtaining alcohol through shoulder tapping. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 31(7):1218–23, 2007.
References from 2019 update
None
Resources identified only for strategies rated effective.
