Current High-Intensity Drinking Among Eighth and Tenth Grade Students in the U.S.

Megan E. Patrick, Yvonne M. Terry-McElrath, Richard A. Miech, Patrick M. O'Malley, John E. Schulenberg, Lloyd D. Johnston

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

12 Scopus citations

Abstract

Introduction This study assessed the prevalence of current high-intensity drinking (i.e., having ten or more drinks in a row in the past 2 weeks) among national samples of U.S. eighth and tenth grade students (at modal ages 14 and 16 years, respectively). Methods Data on high-intensity drinking were provided by 10,210 students participating in the nationally representative Monitoring the Future study in 2016, and analyzed in 2016–2017. Prevalence levels and interactions between grade and key covariates were estimated using procedures that adjusted for the Monitoring the Future study's complex sampling design. Results Approximately 2% of adolescents reported current high-intensity drinking, with significant differences by grade (1.2% of eighth graders; 3.1% of tenth graders) and gender (1.7% female; 2.3% male). High-intensity drinking was significantly higher among eighth and tenth grade students who reported any cigarette or marijuana use than among students who reported never using either substance. Conclusions A meaningful percentage of young adolescents in the U.S. engage in high-intensity drinking.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)904-908
Number of pages5
JournalAmerican journal of preventive medicine
Volume53
Issue number6
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 2017
Externally publishedYes

Bibliographical note

Funding Information:
This manuscript was supported by research grants R01AA023504 (to M. Patrick) from the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism and R01DA001411 (to L. Johnston) from the National Institute on Drug Abuse. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the study sponsors. The study sponsors had no role in the study design; collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; writing the report; and the decision to submit the report for publication.

Publisher Copyright:
© 2017 American Journal of Preventive Medicine

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