Posted on October 28, 2009

Underage consumption of alcohol can pose significant risks to those engaging in the activity. While some adolescents and other underage drinkers may only try a drink to satisfy a curiosity, still many others are engaging in the activity on a regular basis. Aside from the illegal factor, this also puts the individual at risk for negative health consequences as a result of high levels of alcohol intake.

The National Survey on Drug Use and Health report, Quantity and Frequency of Alcohol Use Among Underage Drinkers, draws on data from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), which examines the prevalence, patterns and consequences of drug and alcohol use and abuse in the general population of individuals aged 12 and older.

Data collected from 2006 indicated the majority – or 53.9 percent – of American adolescents and young adults aged 12 to 20 had indulged in an alcoholic beverage at least once in their lifetime. In fact, data shows that people within this age group were responsible for 11.2 percent of the alcoholic drinks consumed in the United States in the past month.

According to industry research, underage drinkers tend to consume more alcohol per occasion than those legally able to drink alcohol. Early drinking has been linked to heavy alcohol consumption and alcohol-related problems in adulthood. For instance, 16.3 percent of adults of the legal drinking age or older who had first used alcohol at 15 met the criteria for alcohol dependence or abuse in the past year. This is compared to 2.4 percent of adults with the same dependence that first used alcohol at age 21 or older.

Combined data from 2005 and 2006 shows that an annual average of 28.3 percent of persons aged 12 to 20 in the United States consumed alcohol in the past month. Rates of use tended to vary among demographic characteristics. Those in the 18 to 20 age range were three times as likely as youths 12 to 17 to have used alcohol.

Gender and race also seemed to play a role as underage males were more likely than their female counterparts to have consumed alcohol in the past month – although the difference was not great. Males were 29.1 percent versus females at 27.5 percent. The rate of past month consumption ranged from 17.6 percent among Asians to 32.3 percent among whites.

For those in the studied age range who did consume alcohol in the past month, the average number of days of usage was 5.9. Those drinkers aged 18 to 20 consumed 6.7 days, while those 12 to 17 consumed on 4.6 days. Male underage drinkers consumed on 6.6 days versus their female counterparts who consumed on 5.1 days. Asians tended to consume an average of 4.2 days, while Native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders used 8.3 days.

The number of drinks per day on the days they drank averaged 4.9 drinks for those aged 12 to 20. For those 18 to 20, they consumed 5.2 drinks per day, versus those 12 to 17 who consumed 4.5 drinks per day. Males tended to consume more per day at 5.8 drinks than females at 4.0 drinks per day. Blacks in the United States tended to consume 2.8 drinks per day, while Native Hawaiians or other Pacific Islanders consumed 6.4 drinks per day.

The good news is that the heavier drinking per month was found among those individuals of a legal age of consumption. On the other hand, more drinks per day were consumed on average by those underage drinkers.