The SHARP, or student health risk and prevention, survey is conducted in Utah every other year. The anonymous survey targets students in grades 6 through 12 and has questions about substance use, mental health and more.
Tiffany Clason is the director of the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services. She said Utah has the lowest underage drinking rates in the country and the 2023 SHARP survey shows underage drinking rates are declining.
However, of the kids who reported they drink alcohol, nearly 50% said they drank with their parents' permission. In Summit County, Clason said 61% of kids who reported underage drinking do so with parent permission. And around 55% of Summit County 12th graders have consumed alcohol compared to a state average of around 18%.
That’s why the Department of Alcoholic Beverage Services manages and funds the Parents Empowered program. Clason said the program teaches parents the harms of underage drinking and how to prevent it.
“We know that the brain is developing well into the ages of 21, and sometimes even 25," she said. "When you're introducing alcohol while that brain is still developing, you are increasing the likelihood of addiction, poor academic performance, suicide, depression.”
While some parents might think it’s safe to let their child drink when they can monitor it, she said alcohol can still harm the child's brain. One of the best ways to prevent underage drinking is parent-child bonding. Clason said parents starting conversations about alcohol when children are young is important.
“We ask and encourage parents to start doing that as early as 8 or 9, of course earlier, but that is the age when children are still looking up to their parents, they’re revering their parents, their parents are those heroes.”
She said when kids are in their teens, they will remember the conversations they had with their parents about not drinking when they were younger. Then parents can reinforce expectations surrounding alcohol when they are more likely to be around it.
