While alcohol use is rising among women and older adults, drinking has been dropping steadily among youth from a high point in the 1980s. “Adolescents and young adults are drinking less than at any time in our recent history,” said Katie Witkiewitz, PhD, director of the Center on Alcohol, Substance Use, and Addictions at the University of New Mexico.
Don’t call it a public health triumph just yet. “One of the reasons kids are drinking less is that alcohol is a social drug—and kids aren’t socializing much anymore. Young people aren’t spending much time with friends,” said Aaron White, PhD, a biological psychologist at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. In fact, while social drinking has declined among youth, the percentage of adolescents who report drinking alone has increased over the last decade. “That’s a concern, since drinking alone is associated with drinking to cope,” White added.
Meanwhile, as male youth are drinking less, young women are drinking—and binge drinking—more often. And although teens are drinking less than their parents’ generation, young adults continue to overindulge. “Drinking rates are lower among adolescents, but by age 26 they’re back to where they’ve been for decades,” White said. “We haven’t created a generation of people that aren’t drinking—we’ve just delayed it. While that’s positive, it also means we have more work to do.” According to the 2021 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, 29.2% of 18- to 25-year-olds reported binge drinking the previous month (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, 2021opens in new window). Some 842,000 adolescents ages 12 to 17 had a co-occurring major depressive disorder and illicit drug or alcohol use disorder in 2021.
It all adds up to a messy picture for young people’s mental health. “Alcohol use among kids has plummeted, but hopelessness and depression and suicidality have risen substantially. Kids are drinking less, but they’re more miserable than ever,” White said. “While delaying and reducing alcohol use among adolescents and young adults is important on its own, we need to place more emphasis on understanding and addressing the underlying forces that lead to alcohol and other drug misuse as a maladaptive coping strategy.”
