Teenage Alcoholism Statistics 

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Even though alcohol has been used in a variety of different ways throughout history that can be called "beneficial," it was, however, realized thousands of years ago that excessive drinking and abuse resulted in negative consequences such as social and personal.

Studying current teenage alcoholism statistics, it is asserted, is an informative way to observe the social and the personal problems that are associated with drinking alcohol to an excess by our teenagers.

Why Teenage Alcoholism Statistics are Needed

Regrettably, the full extent of the damaging and pervasive effects of teenage alcoholism are not typically comprehended until relevant statistics are explicitly stated.  

As a consequence, the following teenage alcoholism statistics, obtained via different surveys and research studies online, will be outlined below:

• United States alcoholism statistics show that people who start using alcohol before the age of 15 are 4 times more likely to become alcoholic at some time in their lives, compared to those who start drinking at the legal age of 21.
  
  
• According to recent research, 62% of U.S. high school seniors reported that they have been drunk recently.
  
  
• Children who are drinking alcohol by 7th grade are more likely to report academic problems, substance use, and delinquent behavior in both middle school and high school.
  
  
• Alcohol is the #1 drug of choice among American youth.
  
  
• Those who are most vulnerable to excessive alcohol and drug abuse are young adults between the ages of 18-25.
  
  
• In one study, almost one-fourth of ninth graders reported binge drinking (having had five or more drinks on one occasion) in the past month. The 25.9% of underage drinkers in the United States who are alcohol abusers and alcohol dependent drink 47.3% of the alcohol that is consumed by all underage drinkers.

• Alcohol is by far the most used and abused drug among America’s teenagers.  According to a national survey, nearly one third (31.5%) of all high school students reported hazardous drinking (5+ drinks in one setting) during the 30 days preceding the survey.
  
  
• Research has shown that people who start drinking at an early age, for instance at 13 years old or younger, significantly increases the likelihood that they will experience alcohol problems later in life.
  
  
• 3.1 million Americans -- approximately 1.4% of the population 12 and older -- received addiction treatment for alcoholism and alcohol-related problems in 1997; treatment peaked among people 26-34.
  
  
• In the United States, more than 40% of those who start drinking at age 14 or younger become alcoholic.
  
  
• Approximately one in four children is exposed to family alcoholism, addiction, or alcohol abuse some time before the age of 18.
  
  
• More than 67% of young people who start drinking before the age of 15 will try an illicit drug. Children who drink are 7.5 times more likely to use any illicit drug, more than 22 times more likely to use marijuana, and 50 times more likely to use cocaine than children who never drank.

• Research has shown that U.S. teens who drink alcohol are 50 times more likely to use cocaine than teens who never consume 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.
  
  
• If drinking is delayed until age 21, a child's risk of serious alcohol problems is decreased by 70 percent.
  
  
• Approximately 9.7 million current drinkers in the United States are between the ages of 12-20. Of these young drinkers, 18.7% are binge drinking and 6% are heavy drinkers.
  
  
• Children of alcoholics are significantly more likely to engage in underage alcohol use and to develop addiction and other alcohol-use disorders.

• Underage drinking costs the United States more than $58 billion every year - enough to buy every public school student a state-of-the-art computer.
  
  
• It is estimated that more than 3 million teenagers in the U.S. between the ages of 14 to 17 are problem drinkers.
  
  
• According to one study, almost 11% of 8th-graders, 22% of 10th-graders, and 27% of 12th-graders report binge drinking (five drinks in a row in the last two weeks).  

• According to a 1995 Weekly Reader survey, more than half (54%) of fourth through sixth graders reported learning about the dangers of illicit drugs at school, but fewer than a third (30%) learned about the dangers of drinking and smoking at school.

Teenage Alcoholism Statistics:  Conclusion

Paradoxically, in spite of the fact that alcohol information such as the negative effects of excessive drinking and alcohol abuse has been known for centuries, alcohol abuse and alcoholism continue to destroy and truncate the lives of many teenagers in our "aware" and "enlightened" society.  Indeed, to substantiate this assertion, one merely has to review some of the appalling teenage alcoholism statistics described above.

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