Pacific Standard May-June 2013 Cover

The Government Can Be a Strict, and Expensive, Bartender

(PHOTO: DUSAN ZIDAR/SHUTTERSTOCK)

Government policy plays a considerable role in limiting our potential raucous, drunken behavior. The tendency to hit the bottle hard, researchers suggest, is affected by an area’s drinking age as well as how cheap local alcohol can be. While states with lower minimum drinking ages were not likely to see residents drink more frequently or consume more alcohol overall, a new study available online in Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research finds, they did binge drink more often. (Binge drinking is defined as five or more drinks consumed in one sitting for a man and four or more ... Read More

Solo Rock Stars Die Young

Amy Winehouse (PHOTO: SHUTTERSTOCK)

Do you dream of being a rock star? Do you hope to live a long life? If so, you’d better start prioritizing—or, at the very least, join a band. Because from Elvis Presley to Amy Winehouse, solo pop superstars are disproportionately likely to die young (although not necessarily at age 27). That’s one finding of a study just published in the British journal BMJ Open, which takes a close look at mortality among rock and pop icons of the past half-century. And just like the rest of us, it finds, famous musicians are more likely to die from substance abuse if they had troubled ... Read More

Want Your Teen to Behave? Well, Pass the Potatoes.

According to a newly published report in the Journal of Adolescence, American teenagers who have dinner with their families most nights were less likely to engage in a wide range of problem behaviors, including substance abuse for girls; binge drinking, physical fights, property destruction and stealing for boys; and running away for both genders. Among teens who smoke marijuana, those who engage in regular family meals do so less frequently. “These findings indicate that participating in family meals may have additional benefits to adolescents, even if there is good family connectedness ... Read More