Creating Healthier Environments to Reduce Youth Binge Drinking
In recent articles in this column, I’ve shared data from the New Mexico Youth Risk and Resiliency Survey’s website at http://youthrisk.org about youth health behaviors and the risk and protective factors that influence these behaviors.
The YRRS is a joint project of the N.M. Public Education Department, the Department of Health and the University of New Mexico Prevention Resource Center. It is part of the national Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System online at http://cdc.gov/healthyYouth/data/yrbs/index.htm and provides key information not only about the prevalence of youth risk behaviors, but also the protective factors that may help keep our youth safer and healthier throughout their adolescence and into adulthood.
Alcohol is still the most commonly used and abused drug among young people, and youth and young adults are particularly vulnerable to alcohol-related health and social consequences. These include but are not limited to violence, sexual assault, unplanned sexual activity, sexually transmitted infections and diseases, unintentional injuries including traffic crashes, school/social problems, and criminal justice system involvement.
Results from the 2015 NM-YRRS show that although there have been encouraging declines in youth binge drinking in the YRRS, defined as having 5 or more drinks in a row within a couple of hours, 14.6 percent of high school youth in N.M. still reported binge drinking within the last 30 days.
According to the NM-YRRS’ Alcohol Use and Related Behaviors report at http://youthrisk.org/pdf/YRRS_2013_AlcoholReport.pdf, the prevalence of a variety of health risk behaviors is lowest among youth who don’t drink at all, higher among youth who drink but don’t binge drink, and highest among youth who binge drink. Let’s take a look at how binge drinking is associated with other risk behaviors:
• 56 percent of youth who binge drink are sexually active or reported having sexual intercourse within the past 30 days compared with 17.3 percent of youth who don’t drink
• 48.7 percent of youth who binge drink rode with a drinking driver within the past 30 days compared with 11 percent of youth who don’t drink
• 45.3 percent of youth who binge drink smoked cigarettes within the past 30 days compared with 5.1 percent of youth who don’t drink
• 52.3 percent of youth who binge drink were in a physical fight within the past 12 months compared with 18.6 percent of youth who don’t drink
What about resiliency factors associated with binge drinking? In the home and at school, several protective factors are associated with a reduced risk of binge drinking. These include:
• Having a parent or other adult who “believes I will be a success”
• Having a parent or other adult who “knows where I am when I am not at home”
• Having a teacher or other adult who “believes I will be a success”
• Having “rules at school about what students can and cannot do”
• Having a plan “to go to college or some other school after high school”
At the community level, research increasingly supports the use of civil social host ordinances to reduce the prevalence of large underage drinking parties, or house parties, and hold adults accountable for underage drinking that happens at their homes or properties. At the state level, raising alcohol taxes to reduce binge drinking among young people is an evidence-based strategy recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Institute of Medicine and the World Health Organization. We owe it to our young people to do all we can in our homes, our schools, and our communities to keep them safe and healthy.
This fall, the 2015 NM-YRRS results from each county will be shared both online and through community forums throughout the state. To register for the Nov. 8 data presentation in Otero County go online to http://roadshows.youthrisk.org. These forums are open to all, but registration is required.
Dr. Holly Mata is a public health professional and Certified Health Education Specialist who lives in Alamogordo. Mata has extensive experience researching and advocating for policies that promote health and health equity. For the past decade, she has worked in El Paso and Southern New Mexico, focusing on improving alcohol and tobacco policy at local and state levels.