Alcohol Consumption among Youth: Current Trends and Research Findings. Prevention Research Update. No. 12.

This update offers current knowledge about the scope and nature of adolescent drinking. Its goal is to bridge the communications gap between the researcher, the practitioner, and the general population by disseminating research findings in an accessible manner and by providing an introductory review of the significance of these findings. Abstracts are provided for a wide cross-section of 36 studies published since 1990 on adolescent drinking, use correlates and risk factors, and prevention program evaluations. Summarized and assessed are recent survey data, the major sources of the survey data, and trends. The epidemiological literature is reviewed in regard to three related questions: (1) How many primary and secondary school youth are drinking and how much are they consuming? (2) What are the patterns and effects of use? and (3) What are the current trends? In spite of extensive research in this area, gaps and inconsistencies in findings are apparent. Even so, today's youth use alcohol more than illicit drugs and a substantial proportion of high school students are drinking regularly and heavily. As for prevention, results indicate that a prevention curriculum's potential effectiveness is partly a function of the substance addressed and that successful strategies against one drug may not succeed against other drugs. (Contains over 300 references.) (RJM)