Did You
Know???
Teen/Youth Drinking Statistics
The following are a
number of statistics regarding youth and alcohol that were gathered by The
Partnership for a Drug Free America. To see the complete article, got to http://alcoholism.about.com/gi/dynamic/offsite.htm?site=http://www.ncadd.org/programs/awareness/campdir.html
• About 10.4 million Americans between ages 12-20 had at least one drink
last month; of these 6.8 million were “binge” drinkers (consuming
five or more drinks in a row on a single occasion) including 2.1 million heavy
drinkers (consuming five or more drinks on the same occasion on at least five
different days) (National Institute on Drug Abuse {NIDA}, 1999 National Household
Survey on Drug Abuse).
• The highest rates of illicit drug use are found among youth ages 18-20
(between 20% and 21%) with marijuana the most commonly used illicit drug (NIDA,
1999 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse).
• 80% of high school seniors have used alcohol; in comparison, 62% have
smoked cigarettes; 49% have used marijuana; and 9% have used cocaine (NIDA,
2000 Monitoring the Future Study, Secondary School Students).
• Purchase and public possession of alcohol by people under the age
of 21 is illegal in all 50 states (Office of the Inspector General {OIG},
US Department of Health and Human Services {HHS}, “Youth and Alcohol:
Laws and Enforcement: Is the 21-Year-Old Drinking Age a Myth?,” 10/91).
• Approximately 2/3 of teenagers who drink report that they can buy
their own alcoholic beverages (OIG, HHS, “Youth and Alcohol: A National
Survey. Drinking Habits, Access, Attitudes, and Knowledge,” Washington,
DC, 6/91).
• Use of alcohol and other drugs is associated with the leading causes
of death and injury (e.g., motor-vehicle crashes, homicides, and suicides)
among teenagers and young adults (Centers for Disease Control {CDC}, “Alcohol
and Other Drug Use Among High School Students--United States, 1990,”
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report {MMWR}, 11/91, p. 776).
• The total cost of alcohol use by youth -- including traffic crashes,
violent crime, burns, drowning, suicide attempts, fetal alcohol syndrome,
alcohol poisonings and treatment -- is more than $58 billion per year (DT
Levy, K Stewart, et al “Costs of Underage Drinking” {report prepared
for the US Department of Justice Office of Juvenile Delinquency Prevention),
Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, 7/99}).
• Use of alcohol or other drugs at an early age is an indicator of future
alcohol or drug problems (J Hawkins, R Catalano, “Risk and Protective
Factors for Alcohol and Other Drug Problems in Adolescence and Early Adulthood:
Implications for Substance Abuse Prevention, 1989, p. 78) ; people who begin
drinking before age 15 are four times more likely to develop alcoholism than
those who begin at 21 (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
news release, 1/14/98).
USAGE RATES AND PATTERNS
• First use of alcohol typically begins around the age 13; marijuana
around 14 (NIDA, Drug Use Among Racial/Ethnic Minorities, 1995, p.31).
• People who begin smoking before age 13 are significantly more likely
than nonsmokers and those who begin smoking later to have problems with alcohol
and other drugs (E Hanna & B Grant, “Parallels to Early Onset Alcohol
Use . . .,” Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, Vol. 23,
No. 3, 1999, p. 513-522).
• Among high school seniors, current use of alcohol is higher for whites
and Hispanics than blacks; the same is true for marijuana, but with greater
similarity in the rates of use (NIDA, Drug Use Among Racial/Ethnic Minorities,
1995, pp. 32, 34).
• Approximately 8% of the nation’s eighth graders; 24% of tenth
graders; and 32% of twelfth graders have been drunk during the last month;
12%, 23% and 25%, respectively, have used an illicit drug (NIDA, 2000 Monitoring
the Future Study, Secondary Students).
• Among teenagers who binge drink, 39% say they drink alone; 58% drink
when they are upset; 30% drink when they are bored; and 37% drink to feel
high (OIG, HHS, “Drinking Habits, etc.”).
• Junior/middle and senior high school students drink 35% of all wine
coolers sold in the United States; they also consume 1.1 billion cans of beer
(Ibid).
• 40% of college students have “binged” on alcohol during
the past two weeks (NIDA, 1999 Monitoring the Future Study, College Students
and Young Adults).
• Among college students in one survey, rates of binge drinking were
highest among Caucasians, 43.3% for males and 24.4% for females; among African-Americans
the rates were 24.8% for males and 5.4% for females; and among Asians, 32%
for males and 20% for females (“Alcohol and Drugs on Virginia College
Campuses,” State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, 3/93, p.
11).
• Young adults ages 18-25 are most likely to binge or drink heavily.
54% of the drinkers in this age group binge and about one in four are heavy
drinkers (NIDA, 1998 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse).
NEGATIVE CONSEQUENCES
• Drivers under the age of 25 were more likely than those 25 or older
to be intoxicated in a fatal crash (CDC, “Alcohol-Related Traffic Fatalities
Among Youth and Young Adults - United States, 1982-1989,” MMWR, 3/91,
p. 179).
• The prevalence of drinking and driving increases substantially among
youth and young adults with the frequency of alcohol use and is strongly associated
with binge drinking (CDC, “Update: Alcohol-Related Traffic Crashes and
Fatalities Among Youth and Young Adults--United States, 1982-1994,”
MMWR, 12/95, p.872).
• Drivers ages 21-24 had the highest intoxication rates (27%) for fatal
crashes in 1996 (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, “Traffic
Safety Facts 1996”).
• In 1995, 21.5% (262,112) of the clients admitted to alcohol or other
drug treatment programs were under age 24, including 18,194 under age 15 (Substance
Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, National Admissions to Substance
Abuse Treatment Services, Advance Report No. 12, 2/97, p.30).
• A clear relationship exists between alcohol use and grade-point average
among college students: students with GPAs of D or F drink three times as
much as those who earn As (C Presley and P Meilman, “Alcohol and Drugs
on American College Campuses,” Student Health Program Wellness Center,
Southern Illinois University, 7/92).
• 31.9% of youth under 18 in long-term, State-operated juvenile institutions
in 1987 were under the influence of alcohol at the time of the arrest (U.S.
Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, Bureau of Justice Statistics,
“Survey of Youth in Custody, 1987. Bureau of Justice Statistics Special
Report, 9/88).
• Almost half of college students who were victims of campus crimes
said they drinking or using other drugs when they were victimized (CR Bausell
et al, “The Links Among Drugs, Alcohol and Campus Crime,” Towson
State University Center for Study and Prevention of Campus Violence, MD, 1990).
• Researchers estimate that alcohol use is implicated in one- to two-thirds
of sexual assault and acquaintance or “date” rape cases among
teens and college students (OIG, HHS, “Youth and Alcohol: Dangerous
and Deadly Consequences,” Washington, DC, 4/92).
• Among sexually active teens, those who average five or more drinks
daily were nearly three times less likely to use condoms, thus placing them
at greater risk for HIV infection. Among all teens who drink, 16% use condoms
less often after drinking (RW Hingson, L Strunin, et al, “Beliefs About
AIDS, Use of Alcohol and Drugs, and Unprotected Sex Among Massachusetts Adolescents.”
American Journal of Public Health, 3/90, p. 295-299).
ATTITUDES, PERCEPTIONS AND INFLUENCES
• 80% of teenagers don’t know that a 12 oz. can of beer has the
same amount of alcohol as a shot of whiskey; similarly, 55% don’t know
that a 5 oz. glass of wine and a 12 oz. can of beer have the same amount of
alcohol (OIG, HHS, “Drinking Habits, etc.”).
• 56% of students in grades 5 to 12 say that alcohol advertising encourages
them to drink (The Scholastic/CNN Newsroom Survey on Student Attitudes About
Drug and Substance Abuse, 2/90).
• 30% of children in grades four through six report that they have received
“a lot” of pressure from their classmates to drink beer; 31% to
try marijuana; and 34% to try cigarettes (The Weekly Reader National Survey
on Drugs and Alcohol, Middletown, CT, Field Publications, Spring 1995).
• A survey of high school students found that 18% of females and 39%
of males say it is acceptable for a boy to force sex if the girl is stoned
or drunk (OIG, HHS, “Dangerous and Deadly Consequences”).
• Teenagers whose parents talk to them regularly about the dangers of
drugs are 42% less likely to use drugs than those whose parents don’t,
yet only 1 in 4 teens reports having these conversations (Partnership for
a Drug-Free America news release, 4/26/99). Compiled 12/99
The number of people, being treated for drug abuse, who report that they began
using at least one drug before age of 13 is increasing significantly according
to a study of treatment patients between 1993 and 2003.
According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s
report “Age of First Use Among Admissions for Drugs: 1993 and 2003,”
in 1993, 12 percent of those treated for drug abuse reported using before
age 13, but by 2003, that percentage had jumped to 14 percent. Analysis of
the Treatment Episode Data Set revealed that the number of people reporting
drug use before their teens went from 114,462 people in 1993 to 162,708 in
2003.
“Age at first use is an important predictor of the potential for serious
substance abuse problems later in life,” said SAMHSA Administrator Charles
Curie. “The increase in the proportion of admissions for drug use before
age 13 should be a wake-up call to parents to speak with their children early
and often about the dangers of drug use.”
According to the SAMSHA report, between 1993 and 2003:
• Preteen marijuana use rose from 20 percent to 23 percent.
• Opiate use, including prescription painkillers and heroin, rose from
four to five percent before age 13.
• Cocaine use decreased from five to four percent.
• Preteen stimulant use, including methamphetamine, decreased from 10
to nine percent.
• Drug use before 13 increased for both females, from 11 to 12 percent,
and for males, from 13 to 15 percent.
• Among blacks, drug use before 13 increase from eight percent to 11
percent. For Hispanics, it increased from 10 to 13 percent.
• For Asian and Pacific Islanders, preteen drug use increased from 16
to 19 percent and for American Indian/Alaska Natives it increased from 21
to 23 percent.
• For white preteens, drug use remained at 15 percent.
The SAMSHA report also noted that drug use may have started even earlier for
some who were surveyed, who may have abandoned their initial drug for another
drug later.
The Treatment Episode Data Set collects data from approximately 1.8 million
annual admissions to substance abuse treatment facilities, mainly from those
that receive some public funding.
Source: SAMSHA News Release.
