1998 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse

Table 22. Percentages Reporting Past Month Use of Alcohol, by Age Group and Demographic Characteristics:  1997 and 1998  

	AGE GROUP (Years)
	12-17		18-25		26-34		35 and Older		Total
Demographic Characteristic	1997	1998	1997	1998	1997	1998	1997	1998	1997	1998
TOTAL	20.5	19.1	58.4	60.0	60.2	60.9	52.8	53.1	51.4	51.7
RACE/ ETHNICITY
White, non-Hispanic	22.0	20.9	63.5	65.0	64.8	65.2	56.1	56.2	55.1	55.3
Black, non-Hispanic	16.3	13.1	46.6	50.3	51.0	54.8	40.9	38.3	40.4	39.8
Hispanic	18.8	18.9	48.5	50.8	51.6	53.1	42.8	47.7	42.4	45.4
Other, non-Hispanic	17.0	12.5	*	45.5	42.2	39.1	36.0	37.5	37.0	35.8
GENDER
Male	21.0	19.4	65.9	68.2	67.9	67.7	60.6	61.4	58.2	58.7
Female	19.9	18.7	50.8	51.7	52.6	54.2	46.0	45.8	45.1	45.1
POPULATION DENSITY1
Large Metro	21.4a	17.7	58.5	58.2	62.4	61.2	56.6	57.0	54.3	53.9
Small Metro	20.4	20.0	58.7	63.1	62.3	61.5	53.5	54.6	52.0	53.3
Nonmetro	19.0	20.1	58.0	57.4	51.0a	59.0	45.4	43.4	44.9	44.7
REGION
Northeast	19.3	22.1	59.9	64.3	60.3	62.4	56.7	57.7	54.0	55.8
North Central	23.4	20.6	68.0	72.1	66.6	67.9	55.3	58.7	55.6	57.8
South	19.3	17.5	55.1	54.4	57.9	58.3	47.7	45.6	47.4	45.8
West	20.3	17.4	53.3	53.0	56.8	56.5	55.7	55.0	51.7	50.9
ADULT EDUCATION2
<High School	N/A	N/A	52.4	50.8	48.7	51.5	32.7	36.0	38.0	40.4
High School Grad	N/A	N/A	56.7	57.6	56.9	59.0	52.7	49.4	54.0	52.3
Some College	N/A	N/A	61.3	64.6	61.6	64.0	56.0	57.3	58.2	60.1
College Graduate	N/A	N/A	67.4	70.5	68.9	64.3	65.9	65.5	66.6	65.5
CURRENT EMPLOYMENT2
Full-time	N/A	N/A	65.3	66.6	64.0	64.4	60.4	60.9	61.9	62.5
Part-time	N/A	N/A	51.5	56.0	59.9	59.9	58.4	59.1	56.6	58.4
Unemployed	N/A	N/A	55.8	63.3	55.7	54.5	61.7	59.8	58.8	59.7
Other3	N/A	N/A	51.3	49.4	44.6	45.3	40.8	40.6	42.1	41.9

*Low precision; no estimate reported.

N/A: Not applicable.

¹ Population density is based on 1990 MSA classifications and their 1990 Census of Population counts.

² Data on adult education and current employment not shown for persons aged 12-17. Estimates for both adult education and current employment are for persons aged > 18.

³ Retired, disabled, homemaker, student, or "other."

^aDifference between 1997 and 1998 is statistically significant at the .05 level.

^bDifference between 1997 and 1998 is statistically significant at the .01 level.

Source: SAMHSA, Office of Applied Studies, National Household Survey on Drug Abuse, 1997 and 1998.

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This page was last updated on June 01, 2008.

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.