NCJ Number
188398
Date Published
2000
Length
2 pages
Annotation
Data and information on alcohol use among boys address the prevalence of alcohol use in boys ages 12 to 17 and some risk factors for boys who use alcohol.
Abstract
According to SAMHSA's 1998 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, 19 percent of boys ages 12 through 17 reported using alcohol in the past month. Boys under age 17 were found to drink more heavily than any other population group; nearly 3 in 10 (29 percent) consumed six or more alcoholic beverages each time they drank, compared to 24 percent of 18-and 19-year-olds. White non-Hispanic boys, ages 12 to 17, reported the highest levels of lifetime, past-year, and past-month use of alcohol. Boys may be more susceptible than girls to a family history of alcoholism. Boys whose fathers are alcoholics apparently suffered from higher levels of anxiety and, upon drinking, experienced greater stress relief and appeared to be less sensitive to alcohol's intoxicating and impairing effects than sons of non-alcoholics. Boys also developed attention deficit hyperactivity disorder at higher rates than girls. This disorder was a strong predictor of early-onset drinking problems. Thirty percent of high-school aged boys who were sexually or physically abused reported they were current drinkers (had at least one drink in the past month) or heavy drinkers (had five or more drinks in a row on at least five different days in the past month), compared with 16 percent of non-abused boys. In one study, the leading reason boys gave for drinking was to have fun, in spite of the adverse consequences. Teenage boys were more likely to drive after binge drinking than males or females of any age. 20 notes