NIAAA Initiative on Underage Drinking

Contents: Welcome Statistics on Underage Drinking NIAAA Interdisciplinary Team Steering Committee Steering Committee Roster  Print and Multimedia Resources Other Resources Selected Research Literature

Underage drinking presents an enormous public health issue. Alcohol is the drug of choice among children and adolescents. Annually, 7,000 youth under age 21 die from alcohol-related injuries, homicides, and suicides. As the lead federal agency for supporting and conducting basic and applied research on alcohol problems, NIAAA is spearheading this initiative to intensify research, evaluation, and outreach efforts regarding underage drinking.

Advances in scientific research have helped to shed light on several important aspects of this problem, and through ongoing and planned studies we will continue to learn about effective prevention and treatment options. At the same time, however, underage drinking rates have remained constant - and unacceptably high - for about a decade. Clearly, more work remains on all aspects of this problem, a need acknowledged by the Institute of Medicine (IOM) in its recent report on underage drinking. As an integral tool in NIAAA's efforts to enhance the scientific understanding of underage drinking, this Web site is designed to provide information on:

• important new research on underage drinking
• the most current national statistics
• links to other federal government underage drinking prevention resources
• updates on the new Steering Committee for the initiative

The Website is a "work-in-progress" -- please check back frequently for updates. Your comments, questions, or suggestions are welcome. Post your feedback to our Underage Drinking Research Webmaster.

STATISTICS ON UNDERAGE DRINKING

• Alcohol is the number one drug of choice among children and adolescents (SAMHSA, 2003).



• In 2002, about 2 million youth ages 12 through 20 drank 5 or more drinks on an occasion*, 5 or more times a month (SAMHSA, 2003).



• Alcohol use by persons under age 21 poses both acute and long-term risks.
• In 2002, 1.5 million youth ages 12 through 17 met criteria for admission to alcohol treatment (SAMHSA, 2003).
• Alcohol is the leading contributor to the leading causes of death each year for young people under age 21, including
• 7,000 deaths from alcohol-related injuries
• 1,500 homicides
• 300 suicides (NHTSA, 2003); (CDC, 2004); Smith et al, 1999; Levy, Miller, Cox, 1999; Hingson and Kenkel, 2004.
• Studies show 40 percent of those who start drinking before the age of 15 meet criteria for alcohol dependence at some point in their lives.
• Research indicates that the human brain continues to develop into a person's early 20's.
• Exposure of the developing brain to alcohol may have long-lasting effects on intellectual capabilities and may increase the likelihood of alcohol addiction Brown, Tapert, Granholm and Delis, 2000.


• Underage drinking results in serious second-hand effects.
• Half of all persons who die in traffic crashes involving drinking drivers under age 21 are persons other than the drinking driver (NHTSA, 2003).
• Research among college students under age 21 revealed
  • 50,000 students experience alcohol-related date rape
  • 430,000 are injured by another student who has been drinking (NIAAA, 2002).

*If a typical 160-pound male drinks 5 standard drinks over a 2 hour period, he would reach a BAC of .08, making him legally intoxicated in all 50 states.

NIAAA INTERDISCIPLINARY TEAM ON UNDERAGE DRINKING TREATMENT AND PREVENTION RESEARCH

The following NIAAA staff serve on the team:

Team Co-chairs

Mark Goldman, Ph.D.
Vivian Faden, Ph.D.

Team Members

Judith Arroyo, Ph.D.
Kendall Bryant, Ph.D.
The Honorable Linda Chezem
Fred Donodeo
Roger Hartman
Dee Higley, Ph.D.
Ralph Hingson, Sc.D., M.P.H.
Jason Lazarow
Cherry Lowman, Ph.D.
Margaret Mattson, Ph.D.
Suzanne Medgyesi-Mitschang, Ph.D.
Diane Miller
Patricia Powell, Ph.D.
Gregory Roa
Roger Sorensen, Ph.D.
Dennis Twombly, Ph.D.
Ellen Witt, Ph.D.

NIAAA has convened an expert panel to help stimulate research on underage drinking. Known as the NIAAA Steering Committee on Underage Drinking Research and Prevention, the panel consists of experts in adolescent development, child health, brain imaging, genetics, neuroscience, prevention research, and other research fields, as well as individuals with public policy and communications expertise.

The Steering Committee will work closely with members of NIAAA's Interdisciplinary Team on Underage Drinking Treatment and Prevention Research.

The mission of the Steering Committee is to advise NIAAA on future research to improve the prevention and treatment of underage drinking.

STEERING COMMITTEE ROSTER

PRINT AND MULTIMEDIA RESOURCES

NIAAA provides a number of print and multimedia resources for parents, teachers, and young people. Click the titles below to access these resources.

Print Publications

• How Does Alcohol Affect the World of a Child? [Printer-ready PDF] -- a statistical brochure for lay audiences that distills the most current research findings about early alcohol use and its effects. Also available in Spanish.
• Keep Kids Alcohol Free: Strategies for Action [Printer-ready PDF] -- a 17-page brochure that describes three basic strategies for preventing alcohol use by children ages 9 to 15.
• Make A Difference: Talk to Your Child About Alcohol [Printer-ready PDF] -- a booklet to guide parents and caregivers in discussing alcohol issues with young people ages 10-14. Also available in Spanish.
• Health Science Education Programs -- a flyer that provides a listing of NIAAA curricula with inquiry-based lessons and classroom resources for teachers.
• Science, Kids, and Alcohol: Research Briefs -- brief summaries developed by the Leadership to Keep Children Alcohol Free that present notable findings  from research on children and alcohol.
• Understanding Underage Drinking - [New Fact sheet - Coming Soon]
• Poster for Middle School Students and Teachers -- a colorful poster with a  message about the many activities kids can choose to do instead of drinking.

Multimedia Resources

• "The Party's Over" -- public service announcements developed as part of NIAAA's long-term commitment to reducing the serious, and often fatal, consequences of alcohol use in young people

  - view the Television PSAs online

  o [30 seconds]
  o [60 seconds]

  - read the Storyboard   |  Order a VHS tape sent to you  

  - Hear the Radio PSAs

The following links feature additional data and resources on underage drinking from some of the many partners that NIAAA collaborates with in supporting research, prevention, and outreach initiatives.

NIAAA-Sponsored Sites

• The Cool Spot - an interactive site designed for young people, featuring FAQs, statistics, and other information.

• The Leadership to Keep Children Alcohol Free - a unique coalition of Governors' spouses, Federal agencies, and public and private organizations, the leadership is an initiative to prevent the use of alcohol by children ages 9 to 15.

• NIAAA's CollegeDrinkingPrevention.gov - a interactive site designed for college students, parents, RAs, and college administrators featuring research publications, fact sheets, news and other links.

Reports and Surveys

• Underage Drinking: A Major Public Health Challenge - Alcohol Alert No. 59 -- an overview of research findings and statistics on underage drinking, part of NIAAA's Alcohol Alert series for research and health professionals.

• Reducing Underage Drinking - A Collective Responsibility -- a report issued in 2003 by the Institute of Medicine/National Academies of Science.

• Monitoring the Future -- an ongoing study sponsored by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) that examines the behaviors, attitudes, and values of young Americans, including 8th, 10th, and 12th grade students.

• National Survey on Drug Use & Health -- a survey conducted by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) on the prevalence, patterns, and consequences of drug and alcohol use and abuse in the general U.S. civilian non-institutionalized population, age 12 and older.

• YRBSS: Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System -- a program of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which surveys students in grades 9-12.

Other Federal Government Sites

• Alcohol and Youth at MedlinePlus -- consumer health Information provided by the National Institutes of Health/National Library of Medicine.

• EUDL (Enforcing Underage Drinking Laws) -- a program of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention/Department of Justice.

• Healthy Youth -- a site provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) with links to surveys and other information on risky youth behaviors.

• Higher Education Center for Alcohol and Other Drug Prevention -- a center established by the Department of Education to help college and community leaders develop, implement, and evaluate programs and policies to reduce student problems with alcohol, other drugs, and violence.

• National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) -- part of the National Institutes of Health supporting research on other drugs of abuse, with additional resources such as --
  • NIDA for Teens -- Teens.drugabuse.gov
  • NIDA Goes Back to School -- backtoschool.drugabuse.gov
    
    
• Office of Safe and Drug-Free Schools -- part of the Department of Education to improve quality and excellence in school-based programs and activities

• Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) information on Youth --programs and initiatives related to preventing underage alcohol use and other substance abuse.

SELECTED RESEARCH LITERATURE

The following selected research articles are a few of the important studies on underage drinking.

Brown SA, Tapert SF, Granholm E, Delis DC (2000). Neurocognitive functioning of adolescents: effects of protracted alcohol use. Alcohol Clin Exp Res, 24:164-71.

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC). Web-Based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System (WISQARS). Available online: 2004.

Hingson, R and Kenkel, D. Social, Health, and Economic Consequences of Underage Drinking. In National Research Council and Institute of Medicine, Reducing Underage Drinking: A Collective Responsibility, Background Papers [CD-ROM]. Committee on Developing a Strategy to Reduce and Prevent Underage Drinking. Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press, In Press 2004.

Levy, DT, Miller TR, Cox KC. (1999) Costs of Underage Drinking. Washington, DC, U.S. Dept. of Justice. Office of Justice Programs, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. (2003). Traffic Safety Facts 2002: Alcohol. U.S. Department of Transportation, DOT HS 809 606.

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (2002). A Call to Action: Changing the Culture of Drinking at U.S. Colleges, National Institutes of Health, US Department of Health and Human Services.

Smith G, Branas CC, Miller T. (1999) Fatal non-traffic injuries involving alcohol: a meta-analysis. Ann Emerg Med. 33:699 -702.

Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2003). Results from the 2002 National Survey on Drug Use and Health: National Findings. Office of Applied Studies, NHSDA Series H-22, DHHS Publication No. SMA 03-3836. Rockville, MD.