Binge Drinking – Has It Changed in 30 Years?

Many years of research have been dedicated to understanding the drinking behaviors of young adults, especially those affected by the lowering of the legal drinking age. Has the lowering of the drinking age provided youth with years to mature and handle the responsibilities of alcohol?

In 1985 the minimum legal drinking age (MLDA) was raised to 21 years, in response to expectations that a raised MLDA would result in lowered traffic fatalities related to alcohol and more responsible drinking behaviors. After 30 years, has the expectation proved accurate? It is not clear that the reduction in alcohol-related traffic fatalities has reflected more responsible drinking behaviors. Recently, Grucza, Norberg, Bierut (2009) examined 30 years of data from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health showing patterns of binge drinking.

Grucza et al. examined information regarding binge drinking from 20 administrations of the NSDUH survey given between 1979 and 2006, involving over 500,000 participants. The participants’ data was divided into four youth age groups: 12-14, 15-17, 18-20, and 21-23. The researchers also created a control group for those aged 24-34 years.

The study researched results from every year except 1982, because there was no data that year regarding binge drinking. The information was organized into a regression analysis to determine the influence of various factors, including gender, age, survey year and their interactions on binge drinking.

The results of Grucza’s analysis indicated that binge drinking prevalence decreased over time for males under 21, but increased for males over 21 and across all ages for females.

The male age groups all showed a decrease in relative risk for binge drinking across time, while females aged 21-23 showed a significant increase for binge drinking across time, compared to the 24-34 female age group.

There are limitations associated with the study of youth binge drinking across time. The data studied from the NSDUH was obtained using self-report during in-person interviews. The NSDUH also made alterations to its survey over the 30 years studied. The researchers faced potential problems related to the survey’s administration consistency over 30 years.

The study has several implications for understanding binge drinking behavior and its possible relationship to the increase MLDA. Though the increase in MLDA may relate to the overall reduction in binge drinking among males under 21, the analysis indicates that females may not have responded in the same way. Additionally, binge drinking has increased for both genders among older youth.

The increase in binge drinking among young women may indicate an attempt to close the gender gap, and show a disregard for the messages in initiatives designed to decrease binge drinking among youth.

Future research should analyze why certain groups, such as women and older youth) have not been affected by the initiatives designed to decrease binge drinking. New ways to reach these groups should be explored that target their specific reasons for binge drinking.

The age and gender group most associated with binge drinking during different time periods should also be examined alongside other influences, such as number of alcohol commercials being aired targeting a specific gender or age. It may be that the MLDA is impactful, but other factors may also be contributing to the age and gender of binge drinkers.