About Underage Drinking

Young people who drink alcohol are more likely to engage in risky behaviors that can lead to injuries and other health conditions. They're also more likely to experience social, academic, and legal issues.

Social, academic, and legal issues:

• More school absences.
• Lower grades.
• Drinking and driving, which puts the safety of those who drink—as well as those around them—at risk.
• Misusing prescription drugs or using illicit drugs—there can be serious health effects when using these drugs with alcohol.

Physical and mental conditions:

• Violence, including homicide, suicide, and sexual violence.
• Injuries including alcohol-related motor vehicle crashes, burns, falls, or drowning.
• Not growing as expected.
• Slower brain development—which may cause problems with memory.
• Sexually transmitted infections (STIs), HIV, and unplanned pregnancy—which can result from sex without protection.
  • Protection includes using condoms or taking medicine to prevent STIs, HIV, or pregnancy.

  Lastly, people who start drinking earlier in life have a higher risk of developing alcohol use disorder later in life.

  What the data show

  Adult alcohol use can increase underage drinking

  Adolescents tend to drink if the adults around them drink or binge drink alcohol.
  

  For example, a study showed that adolescents whose parents drank 5 or more days in a month were significantly more likely to drink alcohol than adolescents whose parents didn't drink. 4

  more likely to drink alcohol if their parents binge drink." />

  Alcohol is the most common drug young people use

  Also, 11% of high school students reported binge drinking during the past month. 3

  In recent years:

  • Alcohol use and binge drinking among high school students have generally decreased in recent decades. 5
  • More high school girls drink alcohol and binge drink, compared to high school boys. 5
    • This is a shift from previous years when boys drank more than girls. 5

    Some young people also report drinking and driving

    • More than 1 in 10 high school students reported riding in the past month with a driver who had been drinking alcohol. 3
    • About 5% of high school students who had driven in the past month said they drove after drinking alcohol. 3

    Resources

    Learn more about:

    • How proven alcohol policies can prevent alcohol-related harms.
    • Ways to prevent excessive alcohol use by creating supportive environments that make drinking less an easier choice.
      • This includes strategies that can support young people's development by reducing underage drinking.

      On This Page

      • Facts
      • Effects of underage drinking
      • What the data show
      • Resources