LIVING WITH TEENS

Alcohol Use Still Popular Among Teens

Living With Teens - December 2002

Knowing the latest statistics about teens will help you better understand what your kids are going through and how to help them. Use these findings as a conversation-starter with your teen. Spend time talking about the effects and risks of alcohol use, but most of all, spend time listening.

• By the time they are high school seniors, more than 80 percent of teens have used alcohol and approximately 62 percent have been drunk. (Monitoring the Future Study, University of Michigan, 2000.)
• Teens under 15 who have ever consumed alcohol are twice as likely to have sex as those who have not drunk alcohol. Thirty-nine percent of sexually active teens who report ever using alcohol have had sexual intercourse with four or more individuals. (Dangerous Liaisons: Substance Abuse and Sex, Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse, Columbia University, 1999.)
• Due to heavy or binge drinking, nearly one out of every five teenagers (16 percent) has experienced "black out" spells, after which they could not remember what happened the previous evening. (Summary Findings American Academy of Pediatrics Survey: Teen Alcohol Consumption, American Academy of Pediatrics, September 1998.)
• In 1999, 21 percent of the 15- to 20-year-old drivers who were killed in crashes were intoxicated. (Traffic Safety Facts 1999, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.)
• Twenty-five percent of eighth graders, 49 percent of tenth graders, and 62 percent of twelfth graders reported ever being drunk. (Monitoring the Future Study, University of Michigan, 2000.)
• Fourteen percent of eighth graders, 26 percent of tenth graders and 30 percent of twelfth graders reported binge drinking within the last two weeks. Binge drinking consists of 5+ drinks in a row. (Monitoring the Future Study, University of Michigan, 2000.)

Statistics taken from "Young People and Alcohol" Booze News: Updating Advocated on Alcohol Prevention Policies," (12 June 2001).