High school students these days are facing considerable pressure from adults who condemn the act of teenage drinking; however, this tension isn’t new. Emerging as early as the 1830s, when American temperance societies began issuing pledges of lifelong abstinence to schoolchildren, the argument against teenage drinking has taken various forms.

In the past, concerned communities have based the majority of their arguments against teenage drinking on moral grounds, at times referencing religious texts such as the Bible. But as Americans progressively turn to science and medicine to maximize personal health, adults are beginning to replace their old-fashioned moral arguments with new, neurobiological ones.

According to a recent study by University of Washington researchers, teenage binging, defined as heavy alcohol consumption over a short period of time with the intention of becoming intoxicated, “may lead to altered decision making in adulthood.”

For the purposes of their study, UW researchers utilized a rodent model, raising two test groups of rats from early adolescence to adulthood. While one group of rats was allowed to binge for a three week period during their “teenage” years, a control group was kept abstinent throughout their adolescence.

As young adults, the two test groups were given a choice when it came to food: they could either accept a guaranteed but modest ration, or they could take their chances with a larger but uncertain meal. The study concluded that test subjects which heavily consumed alcohol, as opposed to those that remained sober during adolescence, “demonstrated greater risk preference,” being more likely to take the risk for a greater payoff.

The UW study also included an analysis of the MRI scans of binge-drinking versus abstinent teenagers, which may link the “greater risk preference” exhibited in rats to poor decision-making in young adults.

According to Susan Tapert, who co-authored the study, the MRI scans showed a “lower coherence of white matter fibers” in the binge-drinking subjects, a physical indicator that the brains of binge-drinking teenagers lack hardwiring necessary for more mature decision making.

“This is just another reason why binge drinking is stupid,” says Garfield junior Julia Thompson. “It’s all about moderation.”

While Thompson doesn’t advocate teenage drinking in any form, she acknowledges that “if students are careful about drinking, they know their limits, and they’re in a safe environment, [teenage drinking] isn’t that much of an issue.”

Although many Garfield students partake in the social drinking activity, most seem to understand the risks.

“Honestly, bad things can happen at parties,” says Garfield junior Catherine Berner. “Teenagers sometimes don’t have the best judgment, and when a bunch of drunken teenagers get together, they’re even more likely to make bad decisions.”

“What scares me,” says Thompson, “is drinking and then driving.”

Thompson’s fear of drunk driving, shared by other Garfield students, may be the result of scare tactics used in driver education classes that show videos such as “Red Asphalt 5.” A proven technique, videos such as “Red Asphalt 5” display gory images of real car crashes to effectively dissuade new drivers from driving drunk.

But scare tactics aren’t limited to the domain of driver edudation classes. Parents often use similar strategies to discourage their own children from “throwing their lives away” by drinking alcohol.

And yet, moderate drinking has positive effects. Health benefits of low alcohol consumption include improved metabolic conditions, prevention of cardiovascular diseases, and improved bone mass in women. Additionally, the consumption of half a drink per day increases lifespan in both men and women.

Parents probably won’t tell children that there are exceptions to underage drinking in Washington State. Underage drinking is legal for medical and religious purposes, and is also allowed on private, non-alcohol-selling premises with parental consent. In some states, such as California, underage alcohol consumption is legal for “educational purposes” and on private premises without parental consent.

While studies demonstrating the negative effects of teenage drinking are abundant, few address the potential pros that accompany moderate alcohol consumption as a teenager. What if moderate drinking as a young adult increases longevity or offers other positive health benefits? Should the scientific community be focusing solely on negative consequences of teenage drinking? Or should it include variation in studies to offer a fuller view on teen drinking?

For now, at least, American society seems solely focused on one angle of teenage drinking: the negative.