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SpeedyCeus
National Survey on Drug Use and Health cont'd
3. Alcohol Use
The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) includes questions about the recency and frequency of consumption of alcoholic beverages, such as beer, wine, whiskey, brandy, and mixed drinks. An extensive list of examples of the kinds of beverages covered is given to respondents prior to the question administration. A "drink" is defined as a can or bottle of beer, a glass of wine or a wine cooler, a shot of liquor, or a mixed drink with liquor in it. Times when the respondent only had a sip or two from a drink are not considered to be consumption. For this report, estimates for the prevalence of alcohol use are reported primarily at three levels defined for both males and females and for all ages as follows:
Current (past month) use - At least one drink in the past 30 days.
Binge use - Five or more drinks on the same occasion (i.e., at the same time or within a couple of hours of each other) on at least 1 day in the past 30 days.
Heavy use - Five or more drinks on the same occasion on each of 5 or more days in the past 30 days.
These levels are not mutually exclusive categories of use; heavy use is included in estimates of binge and current use, and binge use is included in estimates of current use.
This chapter is divided into two main sections. Section 3.1 describes trends and patterns of alcohol use among the population aged 12 or older. Section 3.2 is particularly concerned with the use of alcohol by persons aged 12 to 20. These persons are under the legal drinking age in all 50 States and the District of Columbia.
3.1. Alcohol Use among Persons Aged 12 or Older
Age
- In 2007, rates of current alcohol use were 3.5 percent among persons aged 12 or 13, 14.7 percent of persons aged 14 or 15, 29.0 percent of 16 or 17 year olds, 50.7 percent of those aged 18 to 20, and 68.3 percent of 21 to 25 year olds (Figure 3.1). Among older age groups, the prevalence of current alcohol use decreased with increasing age, from 63.2 percent among 26 to 29 year olds to 47.6 percent among 60 to 64 year olds and 38.1 percent among people aged 65 or older.
Below is a bar graph. Click here for the text describing this graph.
Figure 3.1 Current, Binge, and Heavy Alcohol Use among Persons Aged 12 or Older, by Age: 2007
- Rates of binge alcohol use in 2007 were 1.5 percent among 12 or 13 year olds, 7.8 percent among 14 or 15 year olds, 19.4 percent among 16 or 17 year olds, 35.7 percent among persons aged 18 to 20, and peaked among those aged 21 to 25 at 45.9 percent. The rate decreased beyond young adulthood from 35.1 percent of 26 to 34 year olds to 18.9 percent of persons aged 35 or older.
- The rate of binge drinking was 41.8 percent for young adults aged 18 to 25. Heavy alcohol use was reported by 14.7 percent of persons aged 18 to 25. These rates are similar to the rates in 2006 (42.2 and 15.6 percent, respectively).
- Persons aged 65 or older had lower rates of binge drinking (7.6 percent) than adults in other age groups. The rate of heavy drinking among persons aged 65 or older was 1.4 percent.
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The rate of current alcohol use among youths aged 12 to 17 was 15.9 percent in 2007. Youth binge and heavy drinking rates were 9.7 and 2.3 percent, respectively. These rates are essentially the same as the 2006 rates (16.6, 10.3, and 2.4 percent, respectively).
Gender
- In 2007, 56.6 percent of males aged 12 or older were current drinkers, higher than the rate for females (46.0 percent). However, among youths aged 12 to 17, the percentage of males who were current drinkers (15.9 percent) was similar to the rate for females (16.0 percent).
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Among adults aged 18 to 25, an estimated 57.1 percent of females and 65.3 percent of males reported current drinking in 2007. These rates are similar to those reported in 2006 (57.9 and 65.9 percent, respectively).
Pregnant Women
- Among pregnant women aged 15 to 44, an estimated 11.6 percent reported current alcohol use, 3.7 percent reported binge drinking, and 0.7 percent reported heavy drinking. These rates were significantly lower than the rates for nonpregnant women in the same age group (53.2, 24.1, and 5.5 percent, respectively). Binge drinking during the first trimester of pregnancy was reported by 6.6 percent of pregnant women aged 15 to 44. All of these estimates by pregnancy status are based on data averaged over 2006 and 2007.
Race/Ethnicity
- Among persons aged 12 or older, whites in 2007 were more likely than other racial/ethnic groups to report current use of alcohol (56.1 percent) (Figure 3.2). The rates were 47.5 percent for persons reporting two or more races, 44.7 percent for American Indians or Alaska Natives, 42.1 percent for Hispanics, 39.3 percent for blacks, and 35.2 percent for Asians.
Below is a bar graph. Click here for the text describing this graph.
Figure 3.2 Current, Binge, and Heavy Alcohol Use among Persons Aged 12 or Older, by Race/Ethnicity: 2007
Note: Due to low precision, estimates for Native Hawaiians or Other Pacific Islanders are not shown.
- The rate of binge alcohol use was lowest among Asians (12.6 percent). Rates for other racial/ethnic groups were 19.1 percent for blacks, 23.2 percent for persons reporting two or more races, 23.4 percent for Hispanics, 24.6 percent for whites, and 28.2 percent for American Indians or Alaska Natives.
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Among youths aged 12 to 17 in 2007, whites had higher rates of current alcohol use than any other racial/ethnic group. In 2007, 18.2 percent of white youths were current drinkers, while 8.1 percent of Asian youths, 10.1 percent of black youths, 12.5 percent of those reporting two or more races, and 15.2 percent of Hispanic youths used alcohol in the past month.
Education
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Among adults aged 18 or older, the rate of past month alcohol use increased with increasing levels of education. Among adults with less than a high school education, 36.5 percent were current drinkers in 2007, significantly lower than the 68.5 percent of college graduates who were current drinkers. However, among adults aged 26 or older, binge and heavy alcohol use rates were lower among college graduates (20.1 and 4.8 percent, respectively) than among those who had not completed college (22.7 vs. 6.7 percent, respectively).
College Students
- Young adults aged 18 to 22 enrolled full time in college were more likely than their peers not enrolled full time (i.e., part-time college students and persons not currently enrolled in college) to use alcohol in the past month, binge drink, and drink heavily. Past month alcohol use was reported by 63.7 percent of full-time college students compared with 53.5 percent of persons aged 18 to 22 who were not enrolled full time. Binge and heavy use rates for college students were 43.6 and 17.2 percent, respectively, compared with 38.4 and 12.9 percent, respectively, for 18 to 22 year olds not enrolled full time in college.
- The pattern of higher rates of current alcohol use, binge alcohol use, and heavy alcohol use among full-time college students compared with rates for others aged 18 to 22 has remained consistent since 2002 (Figure 3.3).
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Figure 3.3 Heavy Alcohol Use among Adults Aged 18 to 22, by College Enrollment: 2002-2007
+ Difference between this estimate and the 2007 estimate is statistically significant at the .05 level.
Employment
- Rates of current alcohol use were 62.8 percent for full-time employed adults aged 18 or older in 2007, higher than the rate for unemployed adults (56.9 percent). However, the rate of heavy use for unemployed persons was 12.0 percent, which was higher than the rate of 8.8 percent for full-time employed persons. There was no significant difference in binge alcohol use rates between full-time employed adults (30.2 percent) and unemployed adults (32.2 percent).
- Most binge and heavy alcohol users were employed in 2007. Among 55.3 million adult binge drinkers, 44.0 million (79.4 percent) were employed either full or part time. Among 16.4 million heavy drinkers, 13.1 million (79.6 percent) were employed.
Geographic Area
- The rate of past month alcohol use for people aged 12 or older in 2007 was lower in the South (46.8 percent) than in the Northeast (56.0 percent), Midwest (54.6 percent), or West (50.8 percent).
- Among people aged 12 or older, the rate of past month alcohol use in large metropolitan areas (53.5 percent) was higher than the 50.9 percent in small metropolitan areas and 44.0 percent in nonmetropolitan areas. Binge drinking was equally prevalent in small metropolitan areas (23.4 percent), large metropolitan areas (23.3 percent), and nonmetropolitan areas (23.0 percent). The rate of binge alcohol use in nonmetropolitan urbanized areas increased from 21.9 percent in 2006 to 25.7 percent in 2007.
Association with Illicit Drug and Tobacco Use
- The level of alcohol use was associated with illicit drug use in 2007. Among the 17.0 million heavy drinkers aged 12 or older, 31.3 percent were current illicit drug users. Persons who were not current alcohol users were less likely to have used illicit drugs in the past month (3.4 percent) than those who reported (a) current use of alcohol but did not meet the criteria for binge or heavy use (5.5 percent), (b) binge use but did not meet the criteria for heavy use (16.1 percent), or (c) heavy use of alcohol (31.3 percent).
- Alcohol consumption levels also were associated with tobacco use. Among heavy alcohol users aged 12 or older, 58.1 percent smoked cigarettes in the past month, while only 19.0 percent of non-binge current drinkers and 16.4 percent of persons who did not drink alcohol in the past month were current smokers. Smokeless tobacco use and cigar use also were more prevalent among heavy drinkers (12.3 and 17.5 percent, respectively) than among non-binge drinkers (2.0 and 4.3 percent) and nondrinkers (1.9 and 2.2 percent).
Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol
- In 2007, an estimated 12.7 percent of persons aged 12 or older drove under the influence of alcohol at least once in the past year (Figure 3.4). This percentage has dropped slightly since 2002, when it was 14.2 percent. The 2007 estimate corresponds to 31.4 million persons. From 2006 to 2007, the rate of driving under the influence of alcohol among young adults aged 18 to 25 decreased from 24.4 to 22.8 percent.
- Driving under the influence of alcohol was associated with age in 2007. An estimated 7.8 percent of 16 or 17 year olds, 18.3 percent of 18 to 20 year olds, and 25.8 percent of 21 to 25 year olds reported driving under the influence of alcohol in the past year (Figure 3.5). Beyond age 25, these rates showed a general decline with increasing age.
- Among persons aged 12 or older, males were nearly twice as likely as females (16.6 vs. 9.0 percent) to drive under the influence of alcohol in the past year.
Below is a bar graph. Click here for the text describing this graph.
Figure 3.4 Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol in the Past Year among Persons Aged 12 or Older: 2002-2007
+ Difference between this estimate and the 2007 estimate is statistically significant at the .05 level.
Below is a bar graph. Click here for the text describing this graph.
Figure 3.5 Driving Under the Influence of Alcohol in the Past Year among Persons Aged 16 or Older, by Age: 2007
3.2. Underage Alcohol Use
- In 2007, about 10.7 million persons aged 12 to 20 (27.9 percent of this age group) reported drinking alcohol in the past month. Approximately 7.2 million (18.6 percent) were binge drinkers, and 2.3 million (6.0 percent) were heavy drinkers. These figures have remained essentially the same since the 2002 survey.
- Rates of current alcohol use increased with increasing age among underage persons. In 2007, 3.5 percent of persons aged 12 or 13, 14.7 percent of persons aged 14 or 15, 29.0 percent of 16 or 17 year olds, and 50.7 percent of 18 to 20 year olds drank alcohol during the 30 days before they were surveyed. This pattern has remained stable since 2002 (Figure 3.6).
Below is a line graph. Click here for the text describing this graph.
Figure 3.6 Current Alcohol Use among Persons Aged 12 to 20, by Age: 2002-2007
+ Difference between this estimate and the 2007 estimate is statistically significant at the .05 level.
- More males than females aged 12 to 20 reported binge drinking (21.1 vs. 16.1 percent) and heavy drinking (7.8 vs. 4.2 percent) in 2007 (Figure 3.7). However, rates of current alcohol use were similar by gender (28.4 percent for males and 27.3 percent for females).
Below is a bar graph. Click here for the text describing this graph.
Figure 3.7 Current, Binge, and Heavy Alcohol Use among Persons Aged 12 to 20, by Gender: 2007
- Among persons aged 12 to 20, past month alcohol use rates in 2007 were 16.8 percent among Asians, 18.3 percent among blacks, 24.7 percent among Hispanics, 26.2 percent among those reporting two or more races, 28.3 percent among American Indians or Alaska Natives, and 32.0 percent among whites.
- In 2007, among persons aged 12 to 20, binge drinking was reported by 22.4 percent of whites, 16.7 percent of Hispanics, and 16.4 percent of persons reporting two or more races, but only by 9.6 percent of Asians and 8.4 percent of blacks.
- Across geographic regions in 2007, underage current alcohol use rates were higher in the Northeast (31.4 percent) and Midwest (29.1 percent) than in the South (25.7 percent). The rate in the West (27.3 percent) was similar to rates in the South and Midwest regions, but was significantly lower than the rate in the Northeast.
- In 2007, underage current alcohol use rates were higher in small metropolitan areas (29.2 percent) compared with large metropolitan areas (26.9 percent) and similar in small metropolitan areas and nonmetropolitan areas (28.8 percent). The rate in completely rural nonmetropolitan areas was 24.6 percent.
- In 2007, 80.9 percent of current drinkers aged 12 to 20 were with two or more other people the last time they drank alcohol, 14.1 percent were with one other person the last time they drank, and 4.9 percent were alone.
- A majority of underage current drinkers in 2007 reported that their last use of alcohol in the past month occurred either in someone else's home (56.3 percent) or their own home (29.4 percent). Underage males were more likely than females to have been in their own home on their last drinking occasion (31.3 vs. 27.3 percent), whereas females were more likely than males to have been in a restaurant, bar, or club on their last drinking occasion (12.8 vs. 6.1 percent).
- Among underage current drinkers in 2007, 30.2 percent paid for the alcohol the last time they drank, including 8.2 percent who purchased the alcohol themselves and 21.8 percent who gave money to someone else to purchase it.
- Among underage drinkers who did not pay for the alcohol the last time they drank, the most common source was an unrelated person aged 21 or older (37.2 percent). Other underage persons provided the alcohol on the last occasion 20.7 percent of the time. Parents, guardians, or other adult family members provided the alcohol 19.5 percent of the time. Other sources of alcohol for underage drinkers included (a) took the alcohol from home (5.5 percent), (b) took it from someone else's home (3.4 percent), and (c) got it some other way (8.5 percent).
- Underage drinkers were more likely than persons aged 21 or older to use illicit drugs within 2 hours of alcohol use on their last reported drinking occasion (16.3 vs. 4.5 percent, respectively). The most commonly reported illicit drug used by underage drinkers in combination with alcohol was marijuana, which was used within 2 hours of alcohol use by 15.3 percent of current underage drinkers (1.6 million persons) on their last drinking occasion.
The National Survey continues in the next section with Tobacco Use...
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