Trends in Young Adult Binge Drinking Rates

Binge drinking among young adults has concerned researchers and educators for decades, prompting multiple national initiatives to track patterns in binge drinking. The longest continuous running national survey of drug and alcohol use among adolescents and young adults is the Monitoring the Future (MTF) study, which is funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse and conducted by the University of Michigan’s Institute for Social Research.4 Approximately 15,000 high school seniors in 133 schools are surveyed each year, and, since 1976, a subset of about 2,400 have been followed biennially by mail. Survey results indicate that the rate of self-reported college student binge drinking in the previous 2 weeks dropped from 1980 (44%) to 1993 (40%) and continued to decrease through 2014 (35%). Estimates for college student engagement in extreme binge drinking, defined as consuming 10 or more drinks on one occasion in the previous 2 weeks, varied from 14% in 2005 to 20% in 2014.

Another national survey assessing college student binge drinking is the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration’s (SAMHSA) National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH), which includes yearly assessments of 60,000 to 70,000 individuals ages 12 and older. Results indicate that for young adults ages 18 to 25, rates of binge drinking in the previous 30 days decreased slightly from 44.6% in 1988 to 37.7% in 2014.5

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The Core Alcohol and Drug Survey sampled more than 140,000 students and found a slight decline in the percentage of students who binge drank in the previous 2 weeks, from 45.9% in 2006 to 43.9% in 2013.6,7 The College Alcohol Survey (CAS) also attempted to assess student drinking rates. At 120 colleges, the CAS measured alcohol use among college students at four time points between 1993 and 2001.8 The survey included more than 14,000 students and provided the first gender-specific measure of binge drinking (i.e., 5/4+ drinks for males/females). Contrary to findings from the MTF study and the Core Alcohol and Drug Survey, the CAS found little change between 1993 (43.2%) and 2001 (44.5%) in the number of students reporting binge drinking in the previous 2 weeks.9

The most recently initiated nationwide survey of college student alcohol use is the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions. This survey began the first of three waves of data collection in 2001, which included data from approximately 43,000 individuals.10 Prevalence rates, only reported for 2001, indicate that 57% of 18- to 24-year-olds binge drank in the previous year, and 40% binge drank 12 or more times in the previous year.

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College attendance, gender, and ethnic variations in binge drinking have been identified. A number of studies have examined differences in alcohol use between college and same-age noncollege peers, consistently finding higher rates of heavy drinking and alcohol-related problems among college students than among noncollege peers.11 The annual prevalence of alcohol use reported in the MTF study suggested small differences between male and female drinking rates and modest decreases over time.4 However, a declining gender gap exists for binge drinking rates, with female binge drinking (i.e., 4+) decreasing from 31% in 1988 to 26% in 2014, and male binge drinking (i.e., 5+) decreasing more substantially, from 52% to 43%.

Currently, the MTF study does not report racial or ethnic differences in binge drinking among college students. However, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that more White college students engaged in binge drinking in the previous 30 days (31.6% of females and 49.4% of males) than Hispanic students (22.6% of females and 39.9% of males).12 Also, African American students (6.1% of males) were less likely to report binge drinking than White students (22.8% of males), although this difference was less pronounced among females.

Rates of binge drinking have also been assessed in military samples. Starting in 1980, the U.S. Department of Defense issued several large-scale, anonymous health surveys (most recently called the Health Related Behaviors Survey) to active-duty military personnel, with the first assessment of binge drinking appearing in 1998. Rates of binge drinking for military personnel overall increased from 35% in 1998 to 47% in 2008.13 The 2008 survey sampled more than 28,000 service members and found that young adult military personnel (ages 18 to 25) had the highest rates of frequent binge drinking (once a week or more) at 26%.14 This is significantly higher than the rate for same-age civilians (16%), as reported in the 2007 NSDUH.15 Rates of binge drinking also differ by military branch.14

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