Binge Drinking

Indicator Definition
High school students who report having five or more drinks of alcohol within a couple of hours on one or more occasions over the past 30 days.

High school students who report binge drinking in Colorado4

High school students who report binge drinking by sex and race in Colorado5

Indicator Significance
Teens who are binge drinkers during adolescence are more likely to be binge drinkers in early adulthood according to an analysis of National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) data. Efforts to prevent and treat adolescent binge drinking are likely to have a positive impact on adult drinking patterns and therefore have an immediate, as well as a longer-term impact on population health.

On average, boys start drinking at age 11, girls at 13, and both are consuming regularly by age 16. Those who start drinking before age 15 are four times more likely to develop alcohol dependence. An estimated 3 million teenagers suffer from alcoholism. The leading causes of death in this age group are auto accidents, homicide and suicide, with alcohol a contributing factor in all three. In addition, depression, anxiety and anti-social personality disorders are all related to alcohol dependence in teens.¹

Colorado Specifics
Colorado ranks 33rd out of 40 states reporting the percent of high school students who binge drink. This poor ranking is cause for concern as trends over the past six years do not show an appreciable change in this statistic. Girls and Hispanic high school students report slightly higher percentages of binge drinking (33 percent and 34 percent, respectively) than do boys (28 percent) and white students (30 percent).

Promising Initiatives
In Colorado
Make a Difference: Talk to Your Child about Alcohol, a program initiated by former Colorado First Lady Frances Owens, targets parents and guardians of young adolescents, ages 10 – 14. Research shows that it is in these pre-teen and early teen years that children begin experimenting with alcohol. The program is designed to educate adults on how to initiate a conversation with their children about alcohol use, to prevent later abuse. Studies indicate that parents can have a significant influence over their children’s behavior. This initiative builds on a home-based effort to promote healthy choices.²

Elsewhere
Creating Healthy Adolescents—A Model Prevention Project (CHAMP) is a Vermont initiative that focuses on children in state custody and foster care. An estimated 80 percent of these children come from substance-abusing families and are at risk of substance abuse at an early age after being placed in state custody. CHAMP targets foster families and educates foster parents to recognize the signs and symptoms of alcohol abuse. The program has developed curriculum and training models that can be replicated in other states.³

High school students who report binge drinking⁶

Text

1. “Adolescent Binge Drinking Associated with Binge Drinking During Early Adulthood,” a research summary at Join Together Website
   
2. College Drinking: Changing the Culture, a Website created by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism
   
3. Rural Assistance Center, “Success Stories”
   

Charts

4. Source: Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 2001 – 2005
   
5. Source: Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, Youth Risk Behavior Survey, 2005
   
6. Source: National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, Healthy Youth, 2005, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention