Underage Drinking--Even Bingeing--Now Beginning at Earlier Age

The problem of binge drinking begins well before teen-agers are old enough to start college life, according to wide-ranging, two-year study just released by Columbia's National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse. The study found that "America has an epidemic of underage drinking that germinates in elementary and middle schools"--and adults, say the researchers, share much of the blame.

Too often, parents are "unwitting co-conspirators," and their ambivalence contributes to the problem of teen drinking. "Parents tend to see drinking and occasional bingeing as a 'rite of passage,' rather than a deadly round of Russian roulette," the study determined. Alcohol is "the No. 1 drug of choice" for teen-agers in the United States. The study found that by their senior year in high school, 80% of teen-agers had tried alcohol, compared with 47% who had experimented with marijuana and 29% who had tried another illegal drug. Alcohol can significantly damage emotional, mental and social development--and high school-aged kids who drink are five times likelier to drop out of school."

Binge Drinking On a Fast and Often Deadly Rise

Binge drinking is becoming increasingly prevalent. Nearly one out of every five teenagers (16%) has experienced "black out" spells where they could not remember what happened the previous evening because of heavy binge drinking. More than 60% of college men and almost 50% of college women who are frequent binge drinkers report that they drink and drive.

Despite laws in every State that make it illegal for anyone under the age of 21 to purchase or possess alcohol, young people report that alcohol is easy to obtain and that many high school and college students drink with one goal – to get drunk. Binge drinking is defined as consuming five or more drinks in a row for boys and four or more in a row for girls.

Some Facts:

** Frequent binge drinkers were eight times more likely than non-binge drinkers to miss a class, fall behind in schoolwork, get hurt or injured, and damage property.

** Nearly one out of every five teenagers (16%) has experienced “black out” spells where they could not remember what happened the previous evening because of heavy binge drinking.

** More than 60% of college men and almost 50 percent of college women who are frequent binge drinkers report that they drink and drive.

** Binge drinking during high school, especially among males, is strongly predictive of binge drinking in college.

** Binge drinking during college may be associated with mental health disorders such as compulsiveness, depression or anxiety, or early deviant behavior.

** In a national study, 91% of women and 78% of the men who were frequent binge drinkers merely considered themselves to be moderate or light drinkers.

Binge Drinking on College Campuses

According to a 1997 national study conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health, nearly half of all college students surveyed drank four or five drinks in one sitting within the previous 2 weeks.

Students who live in a fraternity or sorority house are the heaviest drinkers – 86% of fraternity residents and 80% of sorority residents report binge drinking.

In a recent study, 39% of college women binge drank within a 2-week period compared with 50% of college men.

Colleges with high binge drinking rates were also much more likely to attract students who were binge drinkers in high school.

Consequences of Binge Drinking

Alcohol poisoning--a severe and potentially fatal physical reaction to an alcohol overdose--is the most serious consequence of binge drinking. When excessive amounts of alcohol are consumed, the brain is deprived of oxygen. The struggle to deal with an overdose of alcohol and lack of oxygen will eventually cause the brain to shut down the voluntary functions that regulate breathing and heart rate.

If a person is known to have consumed large quantities of alcohol in a short period of time, symptoms of alcohol poisoning include:

Vomiting

Unconsciousness

Cold, clammy, pale, or bluish skin

Slow or irregular breathing (less than 8 breaths a minute or 10 or more seconds between breaths).

Secondary Effects of Binge Drinking

In schools with high binge drinking rates, 34% of non-binge drinkers reported being insulted or humiliated by binge drinkers; 13% reported being pushed, hit, or assaulted; 54% reported having to take care of a drunken student; 68% were interrupted while studying; and 26% of women experienced an unwanted sexual advance.

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