Statistics You Should Know About Teens and Drinking
- Drinking in high school is a major predictor of heavy drinking in college.
(Harvard College Alcohol Study 2003) - Close to 50% of those who start drinking before age 15 will face alcohol or drug dependence at some point. Delaying use of alcohol reduces the risk each year by 14% up to age 21.
(1998 – B.F. Grant, NIAAA) - Recent consumption of alcohol doubles from 8th grade to 12th grade, reaching nearly 50% of all seniors. (1998)
- More children are killed by alcohol than all illegal drugs combined. (2003)
- More kids use alcohol than use tobacco or illicit drugs. (NIAA 2003)
- Postponing alcohol use increases the likelihood of a positive relationship with alcohol in the future.
Alcohol, Gender & Sex
- Boys are more likely than girls to begin drinking before age 13.
(2000–Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance,CDC) - High school boys are significantly more likely to binge drink.
- Use rates among girls are rising more quickly than boys.
39% of high school boys said forcing sex is acceptable if the girl is stoned or drunk.
(1999 – Office of the Inspector General, DHHS) - Half of the girls who have sexual intercourse by age 16 are intoxicated at the time. Alcohol use is implicated in 1/3 to 2/3 of sexual assault and date rape cases among teens and college students.
Teen Alcohol Use and Driving
- The Good News -- Youth traffic fatalities have dropped 57% since 1980.
- The Bad News -- Alcohol plays a role in more than 24% of fatal crashes involving 15 - 20 y.o. drivers.
(Geico Spring 2004) - More Bad News -- Teens are 4 times more likely to be in a fatal crash as adults over 30.
- And More -- The number of teens injured in traffic related accidents is 100 times the number killed. (3,827 vs 324,000 -- 2002)
- 16 year-olds at highest risk for car accidents
(85% due to driver error) (Geico Spring 2004)
Marijuana & Driving
- 25% of all 16 y.o. report using marijuana in the last year.
- One in six H.S. seniors admits driving under the influence of marijuana in the last year.
Cars are the 2nd most common place to get high (friend’s house #1)
(Geico Spring 2004) - 68% of teens who use drugs report that they regularly drug and drive.
- 45% of teens surveyed are not concerned about riding with someone under the influence of drugs.
- One third of non-alcohol related reckless driving incidents involved marijuana
(Geico Spring 2004)
Access to Alcohol
- 90% of 10th graders and 75% of 8th graders report alcohol is “fairly easy” or “very easy” to get. (1996 – Monitoring the Future Study, NIDA)
- The most common responses to where teens get alcohol are( 1998 – Pride Survey):
- A friend’s house
- Their own home (77% say with or without parental permission)
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