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Youth Drinking Rates and Problems: A Comparison of European Countries and the United States

NCJ Number
211446
Author(s)
Joel Grube Ph.D.
Date Published
May 2005
Length
6 pages
Annotation
This report presents a comparative analysis of the drinking patterns of European and American youths.
Abstract
It has been a widely held assumption that American youth consume more alcohol and experience more alcohol-related problems than their European counterparts. This assumption is often used to promote the elimination of U.S. minimum drinking age laws or to promote programs that teach children to drink responsibly. Until recently, there was little empirical evidence available to compare the drinking patterns of American and European youth. Data from the 2003 European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) and the 2003 United States Monitoring the Future Survey (MTF) are presented that show that European youth actually drink more and have more problematic drinking patterns than do their American counterparts. Findings are presented concerning the prevalence of youth drinking during the past 30 days, the prevalence of heavy drinking, and the prevalence of drinking to intoxication in the American and European samples. Figures, references