Selected Findings from the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions
Underage Drinking
People who begin to drink at a young age are much higher risk of developing a problem with alcohol later in life. Researchers found that 45 percent of the people who began drinking before the age of 14 developed later alcohol dependence, compared with only 10 percent of those who waited until they were 21 or older to start drinking.
Using NESARC data, the researchers were able to delve deeper. They found that people who began drinking at an early age not only were more likely to experience alcohol dependence in their lifetime but to develop that dependence within 10 years of beginning drinking, to become dependent before age 25, and to show signs of dependence during the year prior to the survey.
Early drinkers also experience multiple episodes of dependence; that is, they had bouts of dependence followed by times of nondependence. This is a unique aspect of alcoholism and the primary reason this disease is classified as a chronic and relapsing condition. These findings on the risks of early drinking stress the importance of screening and counseling adolescents about alcohol use as well as implementing policies and programs that delay alcohol consumption.
Another problem associated with underage drinking--drinking and driving--has been extensively studied. But much less is known about other consequences of youthful drinking. French and Maclean used NESARC data to study the effects of underage drinking on a variety of delinquency and criminal behaviors, including bullying people, stealing, vandalizing property, and other illegal acts. They found strong evidence that drinking alcohol is related to both delinquency and criminal activity with strong gender differences in the types of activities involved.
Young Adult Drinking
Research shows that people are most likely to drink the heaviest in their late teens and early twenties. In 2001-2002, about 70 percent of young adults, or about 19 million people, reported drinking in the year preceding this survey.
Researchers found that although rates of heavy episodic drinking were slightly higher for college students than for non-college students, the greatest differences were related to where those young adults lived. For example, about a third of both college students and other college-age youth who lived with their parents or other relatives reported heavy episodic drinking in the past year. In contrast, 46.5 percent of college students living off campus and 51.8% of those living on campus reported heavy episodic drinking, as did 40 percent of other college-age youth living independently. The authors conclude that heavy episodic drinking and alcohol use dependencies are common among all young adults, not just those attending college.
U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Alcohol Alert, Oct. 2006