Data as Evidence: Binge Drinking

These charts and graphs show the data on binge drinking by youths in the United States. According to the Kids Count website, binge drinking is considered having five or more drinks in the same sitting (within a few hours of each other) at least one time in the past 30 days. It is clear and not really surprising that binge drinking by youths occurs in every state. The difference though, is the amount of youths that are drinking. Why are there differences from state to state? Let's take a closer look. The first graph shows some of the highest, and the lowest binge drinking percentages according to state from 2009-2010. This bar graph shows that 51% of North Dakota and Vermont young people from the ages of 18-25 are binge drinking. Wisconsin is not far behind at 50% and Michigan was around the national average at 41%. Utah was the lowest of the 50 states with only 24% of 18-25 year old people binge drinking at least once a month. I thought this information from the graph was interesting because some states double the youth binge drinking of Utah. One reason I thought this happens is because of the high Mormon population in Utah because the Mormon religion forbids consuming alcohol. Mormon parents then instill the "anti-drinking" belief in their children. The reason I thought Wisconsin had such a high percent of youthful binge drinkers is because of the culture. I was born and raised in Wisconsin and drinking is deeply ingrained in the culture of this state. Person for person there is three times more taverns in Wisconsin than the rest of the country. It is rare to go to a social event without alcohol involved. The reason I decided was plausible for North Dakota and Vermont leading the nation in 18-25 year old binge drinking is because of the low population levels of these states and it would cause the percentages to be higher. Another interesting bit of information from this graph is that of the green bars or the percentage of 12-17 year old people that binge drink once a month. All of these states have around the same percentage of binge drinkers for this age group. Only ranging 4% from the lowest to the highest was completely different than the 18-25 age group which had a 27% difference from lowest to highest. The last two graphs show how the amount of binge drinking by the two age groups has changed from 2002 to 2010. Looking at these two line graphs the first thing I noticed was how constant the binge drinking rate for the 18-25 year old group has remained over this time for these states and the nation as a whole. The other thing I noticed was that the 12-17 year old percentages for the U.S. have been dropping from 2002 to 2010. I thought it was really interesting that over time these states and the nation kept the same binge drinking rate in the 18-25 year old group. I suppose this is because this age group is living the "college life." Youths in this age group are just living like the normal college student does. Partying on weekends after class or work all week has been the norm for years and will probably always stay about the same level. I think the reason that the 12-17 age group is dropping is because of more focus on reducing underage drinking. An example being at my hometown of Fond du Lac's annual festival of Walleye Weekend. It is an event that takes place in the summer time when people from the community come and partake in many activities like fishing, softball, volleyball, basketball and other social activities. Police are constantly keeping watch for underagers that are trying to get a buzz. They have even fined booths that have provided alcohol to underage drinkers. Parents are being discouraged by television ads to not give alcohol to their kids which will also reduce the number of binge drinkers for this age group. I think it is very interesting to see how culture plays a big role in alcohol consumption by younger people in our states. This data clearly shows that culture can keep levels constant and can also help to reduce underage drinking.