Just in: Fake ID linked to drinking

One of our notebooks in the August issue takes a linkurl:close look at press releases;http://www.the-scientist.com/2007/8/1/18/1/ about research, and why some press offices choose to cover seemingly obvious research. We only mentioned one university-based press office, but it's not just Ohio State University that "sells the self-evident," as a press release that landed in my inbox last week demonstrates. "Mizzou study shows that possessing a fake ID results in more drinking by u

Written byAlison McCook
| 1 min read

Register for free to listen to this article
Listen with Speechify
0:00
1:00
Share
One of our notebooks in the August issue takes a linkurl:close look at press releases;http://www.the-scientist.com/2007/8/1/18/1/ about research, and why some press offices choose to cover seemingly obvious research. We only mentioned one university-based press office, but it's not just Ohio State University that "sells the self-evident," as a press release that landed in my inbox last week demonstrates. "Mizzou study shows that possessing a fake ID results in more drinking by underage college students," the University of Missouri-Columbia linkurl:release;http://munews.missouri.edu/NewsBureauSingleNews.cfm?newsid=16345 reads. The study, from professor of clinical psychology Kenneth Sher and his colleagues, showed that owning a fake ID increased the risk of drinking among students in their first two years of college. Also, students who belonged to fraternities or sororities were more likely to own a fake ID. "The biggest finding is that having a fake ID is a risk factor for additional drinking -- drinking that might not otherwise be occurring," Sher said in the release. "Basically, being a heavy drinker predicts the likelihood that someone will obtain a fake ID, and having a fake ID predicts that someone will be a heavy drinker." Um, yeah. Am I missing something? The study, which asked 3,700 in their first four semesters of college about their drinking habits, was linkurl:published;http://content.apa.org/journals/adb/21/2/226.html in the American Psychological Association journal, Psychology of Addictive Behaviors. Seen any other examples of painfully obvious study findings? Tell us about them.
Interested in reading more?

Become a Member of

The Scientist Logo
Receive full access to more than 35 years of archives, as well as TS Digest, digital editions of The Scientist, feature stories, and much more!
Already a member? Login Here

Meet the Author

Share
Image of a woman with her hands across her stomach. She has a look of discomfort on her face. There is a blown up image of her stomach next to her and it has colorful butterflies and gut bacteria all swarming within the gut.
November 2025, Issue 1

Why Do We Feel Butterflies in the Stomach?

These fluttering sensations are the brain’s reaction to certain emotions, which can be amplified or soothed by the gut’s own “bugs".

View this Issue
Olga Anczukow and Ryan Englander discuss how transcriptome splicing affects immune system function in lung cancer.

Long-Read RNA Sequencing Reveals a Regulatory Role for Splicing in Immunotherapy Responses

Pacific Biosciences logo
Research Roundtable: The Evolving World of Spatial Biology

Research Roundtable: The Evolving World of Spatial Biology

Conceptual cartoon image of gene editing technology

Exploring the State of the Art in Gene Editing Techniques

Bio-Rad
Conceptual image of a doctor holding a brain puzzle, representing Alzheimer's disease diagnosis.

Simplifying Early Alzheimer’s Disease Diagnosis with Blood Testing

fujirebio logo

Products

Labvantage Logo

LabVantage Solutions Awarded $22.3 Million U.S Customs and Border Protection Contract to Deliver Next-Generation Forensic LIMS

The Scientist Placeholder Image

Evosep Unveils Open Innovation Initiative to Expand Standardization in Proteomics

OGT logo

OGT expands MRD detection capabilities with new SureSeq Myeloid MRD Plus NGS Panel