America's Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being, 2011

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.⁹⁵ 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, 1980–2010

• Heavy drinking declined from the most recent peaks of 13 percent in 1996 to 7 percent in 2010 for 8thgrade students, from 24 percent in 2000 to 16 percent in 2010 for 10th-grade students, and from 32 percent in 1998 to 23 percent in 2010 for 12th-grade students.
• In 2010, 7 percent of male and 8 percent of female 8th-grade students reported heavy drinking; among 10th-grade students, the proportion was 18 percent for males and 15 percent for females. Twenty-eight percent of 12th-grade males reported heavy drinking, compared with 18 percent of 12th-grade females.
• For 12th-grade students in 2010, the percentage of White, non-Hispanic students who reported heavy drinking was approximately double the percentage of Black, non-Hispanic students who reported heavy drinking. The percentages of White, non-Hispanic, Hispanic, and Black, non-Hispanic 12th-graders who were heavy drinkers were 28, 22, and 13 percent, respectively. The percentages of 10th-grade White, non-Hispanic, Hispanic, and Black, non-Hispanic students who were heavy drinkers were 17, 22, and 11 percent, respectively. Among 8th-grade students, the rate of heavy drinking was 7 percent for White, non-Hispanic, 11 percent for Hispanic, and 5 percent for Black, non-Hispanic students.

 BEH2 HTML Table