Binge Drinking CISDUS Additional Findings

Binge drinking typically refers to a pattern of drinking which results in a blood alcohol concentration of 0.08% or higher. In adults, this is typically achieved through the consecutive consumption of five or more drinks within 2 hours, however, young people can achieve this BAC on fewer drinks in the same timeframe.

In this survey, binge drinking is defined as the consumption of 5 or more alcoholic beverages in a single outing.

Binge drinking was measured only among students who reported alcohol use during the last 30 days prior to completing the survey (we consider this time frame as current use).

• Among students who reported drinking in the last 30 days (total number = 471), 48.7% of students also reported having participated in binge drinking at least once during the two weeks prior to participating in the survey.

• The prevalence of binge drinking varied by gender, with 51.2% of boys reporting heavy episodic drinking compared to 4.2% of girls.

• Binge drinking among current users was mostly reported by students in higher grades, with more than half of all students in years 11, 12, and 13 (grades 9-12) reporting binge drinking.