While the goal of National Alcohol Screening Day on April 10 is
to increase the general public's awareness to the consequences of
at-risk drinking and health perils, alcohol use continues to be a
serious problem for one segment of the public in particular:
American teens. According to Leadership to Keep Children Alcohol
Free, more than 40% of kids who begin drinking before the age of 13
will have alcohol abuse problems later in life. The 2003 Gallup
Youth Survey* asked teens (aged 13 to 17) a series of questions
about alcohol use; almost a third of U.S. teens say they drink
alcohol. The number who say they have been personally affected by
alcohol use in their families is also about one in three.
How Many Teens Are Drinking?
According to the poll, 30% of U.S. teens say they "have occasion
to use alcoholic beverages," while 70% say they do not. The data
reveal some interesting differences according to age and
gender.
As age increases in the teen years, so does the likelihood of
alcohol consumption. In the 2003 survey, 42% of teens aged 16 to 17
report using alcohol, compared to just 22% of teens aged 13 to 15.
The significant increase among older teens may reflect increased
peer pressure within this age group to drink.
The stereotype that teen boys are wilder and more likely to
drink than teen girls is not borne out in these data; in fact, teen
girls are somewhat more likely than teen boys to say they drink
(33% to 26%, respectively). This statistic has significant health
consequences, as the Leadership to Keep Children Alcohol Free
reports that girls aged 12 to 16 who drink are six times more
likely than girls who don't drink to suffer from depression.
How Are Teens Affected by Alcohol Use in Their
Families?
Teens do not have to be using alcohol themselves to be
negatively affected by it. Thirty-two percent of teens report that
at some point, alcohol has been a cause of trouble in their
families.
The education level of teens' parents also seems to be a factor
in whether teens say that alcohol has caused trouble in their
families. Teens coming from families in which both parents are
college-educated are less likely to report that alcohol has been a
cause of trouble in their families (22%) than teens coming from
families in which one parent is college-educated (36%), or neither
parent is college-educated (36%). This gap also appears in results
to the question about teen alcohol use. Twenty-four percent of
teens with two college-educated parents say they use alcohol,
compared to 34% of teens whose parents are not
college-educated.
Bottom Line
Teen drinking is not just a current health problem -- it is a
predictor of future health problems. Chances are that many who
develop drinking problems in their teen years will not only develop
physiological and psychological problems later on, but they're also
more likely to perpetuate the cycle of psychological and emotional
stress among their own children and family members.
To improve the health status of Americans and control future
healthcare costs, health professionals should diagnose and treat
alcohol abuse problems as early as possible. According to the
National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA), free
screenings for alcohol-related problems will be provided at more
than 4,000 sites nationwide on April 10. This is an excellent
opportunity to draw teens' attention to this health issue.
*The Gallup Youth Survey is conducted via an Internet
methodology provided by Knowledge Networks, using an online
research panel that is designed to be representative of the entire
U.S. population. The current questionnaire was completed by 1,200
respondents, aged 13 to 17, between Jan. 23-Feb. 10, 2003. For
results based on the total sample, one can say with 95% confidence
that the maximum margin of sampling error is ±3%.
