Underage Drinking Declining in America

According to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA), alcohol, is the number one substance abused by individuals under the age of 21. The most common form of drink of is binge drinking by underage students (4 drinks at a time for females and 5 drinks at a time for males). Underage drinking is among the leading causes of sexual assault, violence, changes in brain development, and death from traffic crashes. According to the CDC, there was approximately 4,300 death per year between 1991-2015 due to binge drinking among high school students.

Underage drinking seems to be declining in the United States of America dropping from approximately 50% in 1991 to 17% in 2015. ABC reported that in 2021, underage drinking continued to decline in the US with some promising statistics. The Monitoring the Future Survey, stated that overall underage that underage drinking among 8th graders dropped from 21% to 17%. Among 10th graders, it dropped from 41% to 29%. In 12th graders, it dropped from 55% to 47% in 2021. The research shows that overall underage drinking is declining per grade level, however students are still drinking more as they increase in grade level.

Underage drinking can cause severe developmental issues in underage students that affect their neurological development.  Underage drinking can cause students developmental problems in memory, learning, verbal problems,  and spatial recognition. This damage severely limits the students’ ability to learn, which is crucial in graduating high school.  Students who engage in underage drinking are more likely to drop out of high school than students who refrain from drinking.

In today’s economy, a student needs a high school diploma to be able to find employment. Students who do not graduate from high school are more likely to remain unemployed. While underage drinking in the United States of America is going down it is still dangerous to students. It is important that parents and educators talk with students about underage drinking.