CHILDREN'S HEALTH AND SAFETY

The additional following statistics show how underage drinking affects the health and safety of the child. References appear at the end of the section.

Because we are constantly updating our Web pages to incorporate the most recent statistics, there may be some differences between the statistics on this Web site and those in our published documents Please note that the Web site statistics are always our most current.

Those who begin drinking before age 13 years are much more likely even in high school to frequently drink to intoxication.1

Compared with other students, the approximately one million frequent heavy drinkers more often exhibit behaviors that pose risks to themselves and others. 1
In 2000, youths ages 12 to 17 who reported past-year alcohol use (19.6%) were more than twice as likely as youths who did not (8.6%) to be at risk for suicide during this time period.2
Girls ages 12 to 16 who are current drinkers are four times more likely than their nondrinking peers to suffer from depression. 3
In 2006, 1.4 million youth ages 12 to 17 needed treatment for an alcohol problem. Of this group, only 101,000 of them received any treatment at a specialty facility, leaving an estimated 1.3 million youths who needed but did not receive treatment.4
Of all children under age 14 killed in vehicle crashes in 2006, 23% were killed in alcohol-related crashes.5

References

1 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.

2 Office of Applied Studies. 2002. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. NHSDA Report: Substance Use and the Risk of Suicide Among Youths. Rockville, MD: Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

3 Hanna EZ, Hsaio-Ye Y, Dufour M. 2000. The relationship of drinking alone and other substance use alone and in combination to health and behavior problems among youth aged 12-16: Findings from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III). Paper presented at the 23rd Annual Scientific Meeting of the Research Society on Alcoholism, June 24-29, 2000, Denver, CO.

4 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.

5 National Highway Safety Traffic Association (NHTSA). 2007. Traffic Safety Facts 2006— Children. DOT HS Report No. 810 803. Washington, DC: NHTSA, National Center for Statistics and Analysis.