Information on Loughborough

Barely legal - new study into whether alcohol affects perceptions of age

Posted on 20/04/2009
University of Leicester

A new study led by the University of Leicester has demonstrated that consuming alcohol did not affect how men judged the age of women. This has important legal implications if alcohol is cited as a cause of impairing judgement in cases of unlawful sex with a minor.

The research in the University of Leicester School of Psychology by Professor Vince Egan and Giray Cordan of the University of Exeter finds that young females are typically viewed as being older than they actually are, but having consumed even large amounts of alcohol does not lead a man to think they look even older. Their study concludes: