Binge Drinking
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Headline

Binge drinking among eighth, tenth, and twelfth graders declined modestly during the late 1990's and early 2000's. However, the decline among students of the lower two grade levels has slowed in recent years. (See Figure 1)

Importance

Alcohol use among youth is associated with a wide variety of risky behaviors and poor outcomes, including unprotected sexual intercourse, vulnerability to coerced sexual activity, the use of marijuana, and poor academic performance.^1,2 IIn 2003, nearly a third of all traffic deaths among youth ages 15 to 20 were alcohol-related.³ Alcohol use among adolescents is also related to an increased risk of alcohol dependence in adulthood. Binge drinking can contribute to many health disorders including cancer, liver, pancreatic and cardiovascular diseases, as well as a variety of gastrointestinal problems, neurological disorders and reproductive system disorders.⁴ Environmental risk factors associated with adolescent drinking include having alcoholic parents; a lack of parental support, monitoring, and communication; and having peers who drink.⁵

Trends

The percentage of adolescents in grades eight and ten who report engaging in binge drinking (five or more drinks in a row in the previous two weeks) declined modestly during the late 1990's and early 2000's. In 2006, rates were 11 percent among eighth graders and 22 percent among tenth graders. Among twelfth graders, the percentage engaging in binge drinking declined from 32 percent in 1998 to 27 percent in 2006. Earlier data for twelfth grade students indicate an overall drop from 41 percent in 1981 to 30 percent by 1991. (See Figure 1)

Differences by Gender

By twelfth grade, males are much more likely than females to binge drink (33 percent versus 23 percent, in 2005)*. The difference is much smaller in tenth grade (22 percent versus 20 percent, respectively, in 2005). However, in eighth grade in 2005, girls were slightly more likely than boys to report binge drinking (11 percent versus 10 percent, respectively). (See Table 1)

*Note: 2005 is the latest year for which these estimates are available.

Differences by Race and Ethnicity⁶

White and Hispanic students are more likely than black students to engage in heavy drinking at all ages*. This difference increases as students get older. For example, among twelfth graders in 2005, less than one in nine black students reported binge drinking, compared with about one in three white students. (See Figure 2)

*Note: 2005 is the latest year for which these estimates are available.

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Differences by Age

Twelfth graders are more than twice as likely to report heavy drinking as eighth graders. In 2006, 27 percent of twelfth graders reported binge drinking, compared with 22 percent of tenth graders and 11 percent of eighth graders.⁷ (See Figure 1)

Differences by College Plans

Students who plan to complete four years or more of college are less likely than those who have no such plans to binge drink*. This relationship is stronger among younger students, though it is still evident by grade 12. (See Figure 3)

*Note: 2005 is the latest year for which these estimates are available.

Related Indicators

Daily Cigarette Use, Illicit Drug Use, Drunk Driving

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State and Local Estimates

2005 estimates for binge drinking are available for high school students (grades 9-12) for select states and cities from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) at http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/PDF/SS/SS5505.pdf (See Table 29)

For 2003-2004, state estimates for binge drinking among youth ages 12-17 and 18-25 (within the prior month) are available from the National Household Survey on Drug Abuse at: http://oas.samhsa.gov/2k4State/appB.htm#TabB.10 (See Tables B.10)
NOTE: Estimates of drug use from the National Household Survey of Drug Abuse (NHSDA), used to generate these state-level estimates, are generally lower than estimates generated by the Monitoring the Future Survey (MTF). Since the MTF was the source of the national estimates presented in this indicator, users should not make direct comparisons of estimates made from the two sources. For information on methodological differences in the surveys that may be causing these differences in estimates, see Harrison, L.D. (2001). Understanding the differences in youth drug prevalence rates produced by the MTF, NHSDA, and YRBS studies. Journal of Drug Issues, 31(3), pp. 665-694.

International Estimates

Estimates for youth in European countries for year 2003 are available at: http://www.espad.org/diagrambilder/summary.pdf (See Table 3)

National Goals

Through its Healthy People 2010 initiative, the federal government has set a national goal to reduce binge drinking among high school seniors from 32 percent in 1998 to 11 percent in 2010.

More information is available at: http://www.health.gov/healthypeople/document/html/objectives/26-11.htm

What Works: Programs and Interventions that May Influence this Indicator

Click here to view examples of programs and interventions that research has evaluated for this indicator. View programs

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Research References

¹Wechsler H, Dowdall GW, Davenport A, Castillo S. "Correlates of College Student Binge Drinking." American Journal of Public Health 85:921-926, 1995.

²National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. 1997. "Youth Drinking: Risk Factors and Consequences." Alcohol Alert NO. 37. http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/aa37.htm. Please note that some studies do not find an association between adolescent drinking and risky sexual behavior. For example, see Morrison, Diane M., Gillmore, Mary Rogers, Hoppe, Marilyn J., Gaylord, Jan, Leigh, Barbara C., and Damien Rainey. 2003. "Adolescent Drinking and Sex: Findings from a Daily Diary Study." Perspectives on Sexual Reproductive Health35(4): 162-168.http://www.agi-usa.org/journals/toc/psrh3504toc.html.

³National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. "Young Drivers". Traffic Safety Facts, 2004 Data, Available at: http://www-nrd.nhtsa.dot.gov/pdf/nrd-30/NCSA/TSF2004/809918.pdf

⁴ U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Healthy People 2010. 2nd ed. With Understanding and Improving Health and Objectives for Improving Health. 2 vols. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office, November 2000. http://www.health.gov/healthypeople/document/

⁵ National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. 1997. "Youth Drinking: Risk Factors and Consequences." Alcohol Alert NO. 37. http://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/aa37.htm

⁶Estimates for race and ethnicity are based on 2-year averages.

⁷There is reason to believe that eighth graders over report binge drinking. For more information please see Monitoring the Future National Survey Results on Drug Use, 1975-2000. Volume 1: Secondary School Students (NIH Publication No. 01-4924) Chapter 4, footnote 27.

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Definition

Binge drinking is defined as having five or more drinks in a row at least once in the prior two-week period.

Data Source

Data for 2006: Johnston, L. D., O'Malley, P. M., Bachman, J. G. & Schulenberg, J. E. (December 21, 2006). Teen drug use continues down in 2006, particularly among older teens; but use of prescription-type drugs remains high. University of Michigan News and Information Services: Ann Arbor, MI. [On-line]. Table 4. Available: http://www.monitoringthefuture.org/data/06data.html#2006data-drugs; accessed 3/15/07.

Data for 2005: Data for 2005: Johnston, L. D., O'Malley, P. M., Bachman, J. G. & Schulenberg, J. E. (2005). Tables D-69, D-70 & D-71: Trends in Two-Week Prevalence of Five or More Drinks in a Row by Subgroups for Eighth, Tenth, and Twelfth Graders. In Monitoring the Future national survey results on drug use, 1975-2005: Volume I, Secondary School Students (NIH Publication No. 06-5883) (pp.610-613). Bethesda, MD: National Institute on Drug Abuse. Also available: http://www.monitoringthefuture.org/pubs/monographs/vol1_2005.pdf

Data for all other years: Data for all other years: Johnston, L. D., O'Malley, P. M., Bachman, J. G. & Schulenberg, J. E. (2005). Tables D-69, D-70 & D-71: Trends in Two-Week Prevalence of Five or More Drinks in a Row by Subgroups for Eighth, Tenth, and Twelfth Graders. In Monitoring the Future national survey results on drug use, 1975-2004: Volume I, Secondary School Students (NIH Publication No. 05-5727) (pp.606-603). Bethesda, MD: National Institute on Drug Abuse. Also available: http://www.monitoringthefuture.org/pubs/monographs/vol1_2004.pdf

Raw Data Source

The Monitoring the Future Survey
http://www.monitoringthefuture.org

Approximate Date of Next Update

Unknown

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