Patterns and predictors of alcohol use among 7-12th grade students in New York State

A survey was conducted to determine prevalence and patterns in the use of alcohol and other substances among 7-12th grade students in New York State. Of this representative sample of 27,335 secondary school students, 71% are drinkers and 13% are heavy drinkers, i.e., they drink at least once a week and typically consume 5 or more drinks per occasion. White and American Indian students have higher rates of drinking and of heavy drinking than do Hispanic, Black, West Indian and Oriental students. The rates of drinking in New York State are higher than those reported in recent national surveys of adolescents. The heavy drinking student can be characterized by frequent school misconduct, first becoming drunk at an early age, having a greater number of friends who get drunk weekly, parental approval of drinking, poor grades in school, being an older adolescent, and being male and White.