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Underage Alcohol Use: Where Do Young People Get Alcohol?

The NSDUH Report - -  Underage Alcohol Use: Where Do Young People Get Alcohol? 

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Highlights

  • SAMHSA's 2006 and 2007 National Surveys on Drug Use & Health were combined to study how and where drinkers under the legal age, (i.e., drinkers aged 12 to 20) obtained alcohol.
  • Based on combined data from SAMHSA's 2006 to 2007 National Surveys on Drug Use & Health, an annual average of 28.1% of underage drinkers (10.8 million persons aged 12 to 20) drank alcohol in the past month. By age group within the underage drinkers the rates were: 51.1% of those aged 18 to 20; 25.9% of those age 15 to 17; and 6.1% of those aged 12 to 14.
  • Underage drinkers who drank in the past month (i.e., current drinkers) obtained their last alcohol drink as follows: 30.6% paid for the last alcoholic drink, 26.4% got it for free from a nonrelative of legal drinking age, 14.6% got it for free from another underage person, 5.9% got it from a parent or guardian, and 8.5% got it from another relative who was of legal drinking age.
  • Current underage drinkers who paid for their last drink consumed more drinks on average the last time they drank than those who did not pay for their alcohol drink (6.0 drinks vs. 3.9 drinks).

Reports on underage drinking

Reports on school/college students

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This Short Report, The NSDUH Report - -  Underage Alcohol Use: Where Do Young People Get Alcohol?,  is based on SAMHSA's  National Survey on Drug Use and Health conducted by the Office of Applied Studies (OAS) in the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).  SAMHSA's National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) is the primary source of information on the prevalence, patterns, and consequences of drug and alcohol use and abuse and for selected mental health measures in the general U.S. civilian non institutionalized population, age 12 and older.   SAMHSA's National Survey on Drug Use & Health also provides estimates for drug use and for selected mental health measures by State.

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SAMHSA, an agency in the Department of Health and Human Services, is the Federal Government's lead agency for improving the quality and availability of substance abuse prevention, addiction treatment, and mental health services in the United States.

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