America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2009

Alcohol Use

Alcohol is the most common psychoactive substance used during adolescence. Its use is associated with motor vehicle accidents, injuries, and deaths; problems in school and in the workplace; and fighting, crime, and other serious consequences.⁹³ Early onset of heavy drinking, defined here as five or more alcoholic beverages in a row or during a single occasion in the previous 2 weeks, may be especially problematic, potentially increasing the likelihood of these negative outcomes.

Indicator BEH2: Percentage of 8th-, 10th-, and 12th-grade students who reported having five or more alcoholic beverages in a row in the past 2 weeks by grade, 1980–2008

• Heavy drinking declined from the most recent peaks of 13 percent in 1996 to 8 percent in 2008 for 8th-grade students, from 24 percent in 2000 to 16 percent in 2008 for 10th-grade students, and from 32 percent in 1998 to 25 percent in 2008 for 12th-grade students.
• In 2008, 8 percent of both male and female 8th-grade students reported heavy drinking; among 10th-grade students, the proportion was 17 percent for males and 15 percent for females. Twenty-eight percent of 12th-grade males reported heavy drinking, compared with 21 percent of 12th-grade females.
• For 10th- and 12th-grade students in 2008, the percentage of White and Hispanic students who were heavy drinkers was approximately double the percentage of Black students. The percentages of 10th-grade White, Hispanic, and Black students who were heavy drinkers were 20, 20, and 10 percent, respectively. The percentages of White, Hispanic, and Black 12th-graders who were heavy drinkers were 30, 22, and 11 percent, respectively. Among 8th-grade students, the rate of heavy drinking was 8 percent for White, 12 percent for Hispanic, and 6 percent for Black students.

 BEH2 HTML Table