HHS HealthBeat (May 3, 2012)

The Peter Pan drinker

From the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, I’m Ira Dreyfuss with HHS HealthBeat.

Getting really drunk at college age is bad for you, but some college-agers think it’s normal. Continuing to get really drunk when you’re older, though, seems to be different. 

At the University of Missouri, Rachel Winograd looked at interview data on more than 400 people. She found heavy drinkers at age 25 didn’t feel immature. But at 29 and at 35, attitudes changed:

“By age 29 or 30, when most of your peers have settled down and you’re still drinking heavily, you may start to view yourself as a sort of Peter Pan of partying, who never fully matured.”  (11 seconds)

Winograd says cutting back on drinking might make the person feel more mature.

The study in the Journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research was supported by the National Institutes of Health.

Learn more at healthfinder.gov.

HHS HealthBeat is a production of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. I’m Ira Dreyfuss.

Last revised: May 4, 2012