Annual Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance surveys by CDC show significant declines in two key drinking measures among high school students since 2001. The table below shows that "current drinking" rates - having consumed alcohol at least once in the month prior to the survey - declined 11.2% from 2001 to 2009, from 47.1% of high school students to 41.8%. The sharpest declines occurred among the youngest students. The rate dropped by 23% among freshman but only 6% among high school seniors. And while the "current drinking" rate dropped at a double-digit pace among white and Hispanic students, it increased slightly among black students. Still, black students remain far less likely to drink alcohol beverages than their white or Hispanic counterparts. One other notable change from 2001 to 2009: young females are now more likely than young males to be current drinkers.
Similarly, the "binge drinking" rate - having 5+ drinks on at least one occasion in the month prior to the survey -- declined significantly among most student groups. The overall "binge drinking" rate among high schoolers dropped by almost 20%, from 29.9% to 24.2%. Again, the rate dropped much more sharply among the youngest students: the freshman rate dropped by nearly 40%. Binge drinking also declined more sharply among male students than among females. And again, while black students remain far less likely to binge drink than whites or Hispanics, the rate rose from 2001-2009. The still-high binge drinking rate and other measures in the surveys indicate a large percentage of youth remain risk takers. Other findings from the 2009 survey: about 20% have taken a prescription drug without a doctor's prescription, 28% say they've ridden in a car (in the prior month) with a driver who had been drinking and 10% admitted to drinking and driving themselves.
Current Drinking Binge Drinking 20012009 2001 2009 Total 47.1 41.8 29.9 24.2
Grade 9 41.1 31.5 24.5 15.3
10 45.2 40.6 28.2 22.3
11 49.3 45.7 32.2 28.3
12 55.2 51.7 36.7 33.5
Race Ethnicity
White 50.4 44.7 34.0 27.8
Black 32.7 33.4 11.1 13.7
Hispanic 49.2 42.9 30.1 24.1
Gender
Male 49.2 40.8 33.5 25.0
Female 45.0 42.9 26.4 23.4
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