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Underage Drinking - Dependence

From the Surgeon General's Call to Action on Underage Drinking, 2007
 
Alcohol is the drug of choice for youth. It is also the drug to abuse of choice for young people. Eighteen to 21 year olds are most at risk for alcohol abuse and/or dependence of any age group in the United States – over twelve percent are alcohol dependent. (Grant, et al, 2004) This abuse happens even younger -- the 2005 National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), indicates that 5.5 percent of youth ages 12–17 meet the diagnostic criteria for alcohol abuse or dependence. (SAMHSA, 2006)
 
Some say the appropriate response to this is to teach people how to drink alcohol safely. This is a tempting approach, but its failure has been manifest in European countries. Research clearly shows that most European countries not only have higher levels of consumption (an expected consequence of the lower drinking age), but also higher levels of problematic drinking (e.g., intoxication) among youth. (Grube, 2001) Similarly, U.S. adolescents are less likely than those from a majority of European countries to report becoming intoxicated in the past year. (Hibell, et al, 2000; Johnston, et al, 2002)
 
Also, the earlier people start drinking, the more likely they are to become dependent on alcohol. More than 40 percent of individuals who start drinking before the age of 13 will develop alcohol abuse or alcohol dependence at some point in their lives. (Grant and Dawson, 1997). About 95 percent of those who are classified as alcohol dependent began drinking before age 2001. People reporting first use of alcohol before age 15 were more than five times more likely to have past year alcohol dependence or abuse compared with people who first used alcohol at age 21 or older. (SAMHSA, 2004) Drinking before it is legal to do so is significantly more likely to lead to problems with alcohol down the road.

 

Studies

  • Grant, Bridgett and Deborah Dawson. "Age at Onset of Alcohol Use and Its Association with DSM-IV Alcohol Abuse and Dependence." Results from the National Longitudinal Alcohol Epidemiologic Survey.  Journal of Substance Abuse 9 (1997): 103-110. (not yet online)
  • Grant, B.F, et al. "The 12-month prevalence and trends in DSMIV alcohol abuse and dependence: United States, 1991-1992 and 2001-2002." Drug and Alcohol Dependence74 (2004):223–234.
  • Grube, J.W. Comparison of drinking rates and problems: European countries and the United States. Calverton, MD: Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation, Office of Juvenile Justice Enforcing the Underage Drinking Laws Program, 2001.
  • Hibell, B., et al. The 1999 ESPAD report: Alcohol and other drug use among students in 30 European countries. Stockholm: Swedish Council for Information on Alcohol and Other Drugs. 2000.
  • Hingson, Ralph, et al.  "Age of First Intoxication, Heavy Drinking, Driving after Drinking and Risk of Unintentional Injury among US College Students."  Journal of Studies on Alcohol 64 no 1 (2003), 23+.  (Click here)
  • Johnston, L.D., O’Malley, P.M., and Bachman, J.G. Monitoring the Future national results on adolescent drug use: Overview of key findings, 2001. (NIH Publication No. 02-5105). Bethesda, MD: National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2002.
  • Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). Results From the 2005 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National Findings. NSDUH Series H–30, DHHS Pub. No. SMA 06–4194. Rockville, MD: SAMHSA, Office of Applied Studies, 2006.
  • Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. “Alcohol Dependence or Abuse and Age at First Use.” Washington, DC: Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Applied Studies, October 22, 2004. http://www.oas.samhsa.gov/2k4/ageDepedence/ageDependence.htm