SD 3.3

BINGE DRINKING AMONG YOUTH

Alcohol use among adolescents is linked to a host of problems including motor vehicle crashes and deaths, difficulties in school and the workplace, fighting, and breaking the law.²³ In addition, binge drinking by youth —having five or more drinks in a row at some point in the previous two weeks — is associated with higher levels of illicit drug use.²⁴

Among 12th grade students, rates of binge drinking fell from a high of 41.2 percent in 1980 to 27.5 percent in 1993. Between 1993 and 1996, rates have edged up modestly to 30.2 percent.²⁵

Differences by Age. Binge drinking increases as students move into the upper grade levels (see Figure SD 3.3). In 1996, 15.6 percent of 8th grade students reported binge drinking, while nearly twice this percentage reported binge drinking in 12th grade. The larger increase in binge drinking appears to occur between the 8th and 10th grade, rather than in the period between the upper grade levels (see Table SD 3.3.A).

Differences by Gender. Male students report higher rates of binge drinking than do female students at all grade levels. The disparity in binge drinking rates between males and females is greater in the upper grades, with nearly 37 percent of males and 23 percent of females in the 12th grade reporting binge drinking in 1995.

Differences by Race. Hispanic youth in the 8th grade are more likely than their white and black peers to engage in binge drinking. By the 12th grade, however, white students report a higher prevalence of binge drinking than do either Hispanic or black students. Black students consistently report the lowest prevalence of binge drinking; for all grades and across both time periods, less than 15 percent of black students report binge drinking (see Table SD 3.3.B).
 

Figure SD 3.3   Binge Drinking: Percentage of 8th, 10th, and 12th Grade Students Who Reported Having Five or More Drinks in a Row in the Previous Two Weeks: 1975-1996

Source: Johnston, L.D., O’ Malley, P.M., Bachman, J.G., “National Survey Results on Drug Use from The Monitoring the Future Study, 1975-1995.” Rockville, Maryland: National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIH Publication No. 97-4139, 1997. Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan. Tables D-27 and D-28. 1996 data from: The Monitoring the Future Study, The University of Michigan. “The rise in drug use among American teens continues in 1996.” Press release of December 19, 1996.
 
 

Table SD 3.3A   Binge Drinking: Percentage of 8th, 10th, and 12th Grade Students Who Reported Having Five or More Drinks in a Row in the Previous Two Weeks, by Gender:  Selected Years, 1975-1996
		1975	1980	1985	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996
		———	———	———	———	———	———	———	———	———	———
8th Grade
Total		—	—	—	—	12.9	13.4	13.5	14.5	14.5	15.6
	Male	—	—	—	—	14.3	13.9	14.8	16	15.1	—
	Female	—	—	—	—	11.4	12.8	12.3	13	13.9	—
10th Grade
Total		—	—	—	—	22.9	21.1	23	23.6	24	24.8
	Male	—	—	—	—	26.4	23.7	26.5	28.5	26.3	—
	Female	—	—	—	—	19.5	18.6	19.3	18.7	21.5	—
12th Grade
Total		36.8	41.2	36.7	32.2	29.8	27.9	27.5	28.2	29.8	30.2
	Male	49	52.1	45.3	39.1	37.8	35.6	34.6	37	36.9	—
	Female	26.4	30.5	28.2	24.4	21.2	20.3	20.7	20.2	23	—
Source: Johnston, L.D., O’ Malley, P.M., Bachman, J.G., "National Survey Results on Drug Use from The Monitoring the Future Study, 1975-1995." Rockville, Maryland: National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIH Publication No. 97-4139, 1997. Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan. Tables D-27 and D-28. 1996 data from: The Monitoring the Future Study, The University of Michigan. "The rise in drug use among American teens continues in 1996." Press release of December 19, 1996.

 

Table SD 3.3.B  Binge Drinking: Percentage of 8th, 10th, and 12th Graders Who Reported Having Five or More Drinks in a Row in the Previous Two Weeks, Variations by Race/Ethnicity Group: 1992-1993 and 1994-1995
	1992-1993a					1994-1995a
	————————————					————————————
	8th Grade	10th Grade	12th Grade			8th Grade	10th Grade	12th Grade
	————	————	————			————	————	————
White	12.6	23	31.3		White	13.9	25.4	32.3
Black	10.7	14.8	12.6		Black	10.8	13.3	14.9
Hispanic	21.4	23.8	27.2		Hispanic	22	26.8	26.6
Note: aTo derive percentages for each racial subgroup, data for two years have been combined to increase subgroups sample sizes and thus provide more stable estimates.   Source: Johnston, L.D., O’ Malley, P.M., Bachman, J.G., "National Survey Results on Drug Use from The Monitoring the Future Study, 1975-1995." Rockville, Maryland: National Institutes of Health, National Institute on Drug Abuse, NIH Publication No. 97-4139, 1997. Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan. Tables D-27 and D-28.

²⁴ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. Preliminary Estimates From the 1995 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse. Rockville, Maryland: Public Health Service, 1996. 1995 results indicate that among binge drinkers, 18 percent were illicit drug users. In this survey, binge drinking is defined as five or more drinks on the same occasion at least once in the past month.

²⁵ These percentages underestimate the rate of binge drinking among all youth, because school age youth who are not in school are somewhat more likely to binge drink than those in school. (Based on unpublished analyses of the National Health Interview Survey 1992 by Child Trends, Inc. and by unpublished prevalence rates of past month alcohol use among youths ages 12-17 by school status, enrolled or not-enrolled, from the 1994-95 National Household Surveys on Drug Abuse).
 
 

Back to Table of Contents

Previous Indicator

Next Indicator