STATISTICS
The statistics below appear in the Leadership pamphlet How Does Alcohol Affect the World of the Child?. They illustrate many of the issues surrounding alcohol use among youth between the ages of 9 and 15, including the prevalence, risk factors, and consequences of underage drinking.
Because we are constantly updating our Web pages to incorporate the most recent statistics, there may be some differences between the statistics in our published documents and those on the Web site. Please note that the Web site statistics are always our most current.
These sobering statistics show how alcohol affects the world of a child:
- Alcohol is the #1 drug of choice among our Nation's youth.1
- Research indicates that adolescents who abuse alcohol may remember 10% less of what they have learned than those who don’t drink. 2
- Of the people who began drinking before age 14, 47% became dependent at some point, compared with 9% of those who began drinking at age 21 or older. 3
- 17.9% of 8th-graders, 41.2 % of 10th-graders and 55.1% of 12th-graders have been drunk at least once.4
15.9 % of 8th-graders, 33.4% of 10th-graders, and 44.4% of 12-graders report having consumed alcohol during the past month. 4
10.3% of 8th-graders, 21.9% of 10th-graders, and 25.9% of 12th-graders report binge drinking (five drinks in a row in the last two weeks). 4
34.0% of 8th-graders, 55.7% of 10th-graders and 68.4% of 12th-graders reported using flavored alcoholic beverages at least once (lifetime use). 12.2% of 8th-graders, 22.1% of 10th-graders and 29.1% of 12th-graders reported past month use. 4
Statistics Publications and Sources
The seriousness of the problem of children consuming alcohol is evident in these statistics and the breadth and depth of research on this topic. The Leadership pamphlet divides this research into The Child, The Family, The School, The Community, Society and Children's Health and Safety.
Many of the statistics in the pamphlet are taken from major surveys and analyses conducted by Federal agencies, The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and their grantees. The primary sources of national and State-specific data include the following:
The Center on Alcohol Marketing and Youth (CAMY) at Georgetown University monitors the marketing practices of the alcohol industry. The Web site contains fact sheets and reports on underage drinking and the media. CAMY is supported by grants from The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and The Pew Charitable Trusts.
Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) contains data on all fatal traffic crashes within the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico. The Web site includes the FARS Query System which enables users to perform their own custom queries. (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration).
Girlie Drinks…women’s diseases presents the results of two nationwide polls conducted by the American Medical Association on teen girls and alcopops. It addresses their usage and the effect on their behavior. The polls were conducted in 2004.
The Making the Link fact sheets contain current statistics on a variety of topics relating to underage drinking, including health issues, access to alcohol and public opinion. They were prepared by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration/Center for Substance Abuse Prevention to support the Leadership to Keep Children Alcohol Free initiative (PDF files):
Underage Drinking and Academic Performance
Underage Drinking and Access to Alcohol
Underage Drinking and the Developing Brain
Underage Drinking and the Future of Children
Underage Drinking and Girls' Health
Underage Drinking and Mental Health
Underage Drinking and Public Opinion
Underage Drinking and Risky Behavior
Underage Drinking and Violence
Monitoring the Future is a national survey that tracks use of a wide range of drugs, including alcohol and tobacco, among America’s adolescents. This survey of eighth, tenth, and twelfth graders with follow-ups of college and young adults, has been conducted annually since 1975 by the University of Michigan, Institute for Social Research, under a grant from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. (National Institute on Drug Abuse)
National Survey on Drug Use and Health (formerly called the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse) is the primary source of statistical information on use of alcohol, illicit drugs, cigarettes, and other forms of tobacco by the U.S. population, 12 years and older. The survey is conducted yearly. The NSDUH (NHSDA) reports from 1994 are available online. The NSDUH is the source for State Estimates of Substance Use , annual reports which provide information and tables on estimated State prevalence rates for alcohol and substance use and mental health problems, by age group.
NSDUH Short Reports (Formerly NHSDA Reports) are based on data from the yearly surveys.
Point-of-Purchase Alcohol Marketing and Promotion by Store Type --- United States, 2000--2001 is a study published by the ImpacTeen Project and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in the CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (MMWR).
Substance Use and the Risk of Suicide Among Youths is an NHSDA Short Report, focusing on youths ages 12-17. It is based on the 2000 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse.
Traffic Safety Facts present descriptive statistics about traffic crashes of all severities, from those that result in property damage to those that result in the loss of human life. (National Highway Traffic Safety Administration)
Youth Access to Alcohol Survey. Summary Report. and Charts and Appendices. December 2002 measures the public’s attitudes and concerns regarding the issues and policies surrounding youth access to alcohol. This report summarizes results of the 2001 follow-up survey to the 1998 report and initial analyses examining changes over time from 1997 to 2001. Adults were surveyed in regard to their general concerns and attitudes as well as their perceptions of alcohol laws and regulations and alcohol advertisements. The findings suggest that the public is aware of underage drinking and concerned about its effect on society. (Prepared for The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation by the Alcohol Epidemiology Program, University of Minnesota )
Youth Risk Behavior Survey is a component of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, which biennially measures the prevalence of priority health-risk behaviors among youths through representative national, State, and local surveys.
Youth and Underage Drinking Packet contains facts sheets on various topics. The following fact sheets are available online on the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration Web site:
Alcohol Use Among Girls
Binge Drinking in Adolescents and College Students
Consequences of Underage Alcohol Use The Role Of Parents In Preventing And Addressing Underage Drinking
Youth and Underage Drinking: An Overview
Other topics include Alcohol Use Among Boys. To order the Youth and Underage Drinking Packet, (publication no. F030), contact the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information (NCADI) online or call NCADI at 301-468-2600 or 1-800-729-6686.
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1 Office of Applied Studies. 2007. Results from the 2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National Findings. Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.
2 Brown SA, Tapert SF, Granholm E, et al. 2000. Neurocognitive functioning of adolescents: Effects of protracted alcohol use. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research 24(2):164-171.
3 Hingson RW, Hereen T, Winter MR. 2006. Age at drinking onset and alcohol dependence: Age at onset, duration, and severity. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine 160(7):739-746.
4 Johnston LD, O'Malley PM, Bachman JG, and Schulenberg JE. 2007. Data tables from the 2007 Monitoring the Future Survey. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan News and Information Services. [On-line]. Available: www.monitoringthefuture.org; accessed 12/12/07.
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