Binge drinking, which is generally defined as consuming five drinks on at least one occasion for men and four drinks on one occasion for women in the past 30 days, is primarily a problem among young adults and college students, although some adolescents also engage in binge drinking.  Most binge drinkers consume beer; according to a study by Naimi et al. that was published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine in 2007, 74.4 percent of binge drinkers drank only beer or mostly beer. Some people believe (clearly, an erroneous belief) that since beer has a significantly lower alcohol content than distilled spirits, that it is somehow safer.  However,  when beer is drunk to excess, it can often be a very dangerous substance.

Binge drinking is a serious problem in the 21st century, responsible for many problems in society, such as individuals who drive while intoxicated, injuring themselves and others. Aggressive behavior is much more common among those who binge drink,  in the form of harm to sexual partners, children,  and even casual acquaintances.  Excessive drinking may cause some men to believe that they have an “excuse” to sexually assault women, because they have misread the cues women have sent and also because they may believe that intoxication is itself an excuse for aggressive and even criminal behavior.

In 2006, an estimated 12.7 percent of individuals ages 18–44 engaged in binge drinking. The risk for binge drinking was highest among American Indians or Alaska Natives (12.2 percent) and lowest among Asians (3.7 percent). The risk for males was much higher (14.4 percent) than for females (4.1 percent). See Table 3 for further details.

As Table 3 shows,  binge drinking has slightly decreased among many groups since 1997;  for example, the rate of binge drinking among all persons 18–44 years of age in 1997 was 13.2 percent, and it dropped slightly to 12.7 percent by 2006; however,  this newer rate is still problematic for many reasons.  It is also interesting to note that binge drinking is less common among the poor; for example,  8.4 percent of men and women below 100 percent of the poverty level were binge drinkers in 2006, compared to 9.5 percent of those who earned 200 percent or more of the poverty level.

Parents and Children Who Drink at Home 
Studies have shown that the attitude of their parents toward alcohol affects children.  In addition, their parents’  attitude toward underage drinking also affects children;  if parents observe their own underage children drinking in the home and do nothing to stop them (and worse,  sometimes even encourage this behavior),  then adolescents and children receive the clear message that it is acceptable to drink,  and they often will drink.

Table 3 -Binge Drinking Among Adults 18 years of age and older, by selected characteristics: United States, 1997-2006, by percent of adultsAdapted from: National Center for Health Statistics. Health, United States, 2008 with Chartbook. Hyattsville, Md.: National Center for Health
Statistics. Pages 308–309.

Yet underage drinking is illegal and children who drink can be arrested, as sometimes can their parents for providing them with alcohol or sometimes for acquiescing to the use of alcohol in the home.

Parents who state or think that there is nothing they can do could be asked,  if their child were carrying around a gun, would they say that there was nothing they could do or would they demand that the gun be removed from the home as soon as possible? It is unlikely that they would tolerate this behavior.

The Extent Of Binge Drinking
While a continuing barrage of newspaper articles, TV shows, and special interest group reports claim that binge drinking among young people is a growing epidemic, the actual fact is quite to the contrary. Binge drinking among young people is clearly declining and it has been doing so for many years.

As seen in this image, “binge” drinking among high school seniors has declined from 41.2% to 27.9% between 1980 and 2003. That’s a drop of almost one-third (32.3%). 6

Similarly, the proportion of U.S. military personnel who “binge” has also declined significantly, according to six worldwide surveys conducted for the military over a recently-ended 15-year period. 7

“Binge” drinking is also down among American college students, and it has clearly been declining for a number of years. This is clear.

For example, according to a recent study of college drinking by Dr. Henry Wechsler of Harvard University, “binge” drinking has decreased significantly across the country over the four years since his earlier study. His research also found that the proportion of abstainers jumped nearly 22% in that short period of time. 8

These findings are consistent with data collected for the National Institute on Drug Abuse by the Institute for Social Research (ISR) at the University of Michigan. The ISR research found that college “binge” drinking in the United States recently reached the lowest level of the entire 17-year period that its surveys have been conducted. Similarly, it found that the proportion of drinkers has reached an all-time low among college students. 9

Research conducted at colleges across the United States repeatedly since the early 1980s by Drs. David Hanson (State University of New York) and Ruth Engs (Indiana University) has found declines over that time both in the proportion of collegians who drink at a high level and in the proportion who drink any alcohol. 11

So the facts are clear. “Binge” drinking is down and abstinence is up among American college students. Yet in spite of this and other overwhelming evidence, the false impression persists that drinking is increasing and that “bingeing continues unabated.”

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Mark S. Gold, M.D. and Christine Adamec

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REFERENCES

1. Amethyst Initiative.  Statement.  Available online.  Accessed March 1, 2009.
2. Beirness,  Douglas J.,  and Erin E.  Beasley.  Alcohol and Drug Use Among Drivers: British Columbia Roadside Survey, 2008. Ottawa, Ontario: Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse, 2009.
3. Berridge,  Virginia,  and Sarah Mars.  “History of Addictions.”  Journal of Epidemiology and Public Health 58 (2003): 747–750.
4. Blanco,  Carlos,  M.D.,  et al.  “Mental Health of College Students and Their Non-College-Attending Peers: Results from the National Epidemiologic Study on Alcohol and Related Conditions.”  Archives of General Psychiatry 65, no. 12 (2008): 1,429–1,437.
5. Blocker,  Jack S.,  Jr.  “Did Prohibition Really Work: Alcohol Prohibition as a Public Health Innovation.” American Journal of Public Health 96,  no.  2 (2006): 233–243.

Full References  »