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Digest of Education Statistics
2021 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest


Table 232.10. Percentage of students in grades 9-12 who reported using alcohol at least 1 day during the previous 30 days, by location and selected student characteristics: Selected years, 1993 through 2019
[Standard errors appear in parentheses]
Location and student characteristic 1993 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 2009 2011 2013 2015 2017 2019
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
Anywhere (including on school
    property)1
                                                                       

    Total
48.0   (1.06) 50.0   (1.30) 47.1   (1.11) 44.9   (1.21) 43.3   (1.38) 44.7   (1.15) 41.8   (0.80) 38.7   (0.75) 34.9   (1.08) 32.8   (1.18) 29.8   (1.27) 29.2   (0.96)

Sex
                                                                       
Male 50.1   (1.23) 52.3   (1.47) 49.2   (1.42) 43.8   (1.31) 43.8   (1.40) 44.7   (1.39) 40.8   (1.11) 39.5   (0.93) 34.4   (1.30) 32.2   (0.89) 27.6   (1.24) 26.4   (1.03)
Female 45.9   (1.32) 47.7   (1.45) 45.0   (1.11) 45.8   (1.29) 42.8   (1.56) 44.6   (1.42) 42.9   (0.85) 37.9   (0.91) 35.5   (1.39) 33.5   (1.89) 31.8   (1.57) 31.9   (1.16)

Race/ethnicity
                                                                       
White 49.9   (1.26) 52.5   (1.62) 50.4   (1.12) 47.1   (1.51) 46.4   (1.84) 47.3   (1.67) 44.7   (1.16) 40.3   (0.97) 36.3   (1.63) 35.2   (2.00) 32.4   (1.73) 34.2   (1.26)
Black 42.5   (1.82) 39.9   (4.07) 32.7   (2.33) 37.4   (1.67) 31.2   (1.05) 34.5   (1.65) 33.4   (1.45) 30.5   (1.40) 29.6   (1.65) 23.8   (2.82) 20.8   (2.27) 16.8   (1.78)
Hispanic 50.8   (2.82) 52.8   (2.41) 49.2   (1.52) 45.6   (1.39) 46.8   (1.39) 47.6   (1.80) 42.9   (1.43) 42.3   (1.38) 37.5   (2.11) 34.4   (1.28) 31.3   (1.53) 28.4   (1.17)
Asian2 ---   (†) 25.7   (2.24) 28.4   (3.22) 27.5   (3.47) 21.5   (1.98) 25.4   (2.17) 18.3   (1.60) 25.6   (2.90) 21.7   (1.80) 13.1   (1.83) 12.2   (1.74) 13.9   (1.98)
Pacific Islander2 ---   (†) 60.8   (5.11) 52.3   (8.54) 40.0   (7.04) 38.7   (8.43) 48.8   (6.58) 34.8   (4.36) 38.4   (6.40) 26.8   (5.84) 36.9   (10.62) 18.7   (3.17) 42.1   (8.62)
American Indian/Alaska
    Native
45.3   (7.18) 49.4   (6.43) 51.4   (3.97) 51.9   (5.29) 57.4   (4.13) 34.5   (1.77) 42.8   (5.43) 44.9   (2.26) 33.4   (5.13) 46.0   (8.12) 31.8   (8.15) 32.6   (5.43)
Two or more races2 ---   (†) 51.1   (3.98) 45.4   (4.11) 47.1   (3.59) 39.0   (3.59) 46.2   (2.89) 44.3   (2.42) 36.9   (3.08) 36.1   (2.87) 39.6   (2.68) 32.7   (2.50) 26.0   (2.39)

Sexual identity3
                                                                       
Heterosexual ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) 32.1   (1.30) 29.7   (1.02) 28.8   (1.00)
Gay, lesbian, or bisexual ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) 40.5   (2.07) 37.4   (2.39) 33.9   (2.11)
Not sure ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) 34.6   (2.81) 21.5   (2.77) 25.3   (2.80)

Grade
                                                                       
9th 40.5   (1.79) 40.6   (2.17) 41.1   (1.82) 36.2   (1.43) 36.2   (1.23) 35.7   (1.15) 31.5   (1.28) 29.8   (1.35) 24.4   (1.13) 23.4   (1.28) 18.8   (1.23) 19.0   (1.41)
10th 44.0   (2.00) 49.7   (1.89) 45.2   (1.29) 43.5   (1.66) 42.0   (1.95) 41.8   (1.68) 40.6   (1.42) 35.7   (1.37) 30.9   (1.84) 29.0   (2.49) 27.0   (1.60) 26.7   (1.60)
11th 49.7   (1.73) 50.9   (1.98) 49.3   (1.70) 47.0   (2.08) 46.0   (1.98) 49.0   (1.83) 45.7   (2.05) 42.7   (1.28) 39.2   (1.52) 38.0   (1.68) 34.4   (1.68) 32.3   (1.25)
12th 56.4   (1.35) 61.7   (2.25) 55.2   (1.53) 55.9   (1.65) 50.8   (2.12) 54.9   (2.09) 51.7   (1.37) 48.4   (1.29) 46.8   (1.85) 42.4   (2.00) 40.8   (1.92) 39.9   (1.45)

On school property4
                                                                       

    Total
5.2   (0.39) 4.9   (0.39) 4.9   (0.28) 5.2   (0.46) 4.3   (0.30) 4.1   (0.32) 4.5   (0.29) 5.1   (0.33) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†)

Sex
                                                                       
Male 6.2   (0.39) 6.1   (0.54) 6.1   (0.43) 6.0   (0.61) 5.3   (0.39) 4.6   (0.35) 5.3   (0.41) 5.4   (0.43) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†)
Female 4.2   (0.54) 3.6   (0.39) 3.8   (0.39) 4.2   (0.41) 3.3   (0.32) 3.6   (0.37) 3.6   (0.34) 4.7   (0.35) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†)

Race/ethnicity
                                                                       
White 4.6   (0.44) 4.8   (0.55) 4.2   (0.26) 3.9   (0.45) 3.8   (0.38) 3.2   (0.35) 3.3   (0.27) 4.0   (0.38) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†)
Black 6.9   (0.98) 4.3   (0.52) 5.3   (0.65) 5.8   (0.80) 3.2   (0.45) 3.4   (0.63) 5.4   (0.59) 5.1   (0.50) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†)
Hispanic 6.8   (0.84) 7.0   (0.88) 7.0   (0.71) 7.6   (1.08) 7.7   (1.04) 7.5   (0.86) 6.9   (0.70) 7.3   (0.68) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†)
Asian2 ---   (†) 2.0   (0.42) 6.8   (1.42) 5.6   (1.55) 1.3 ! (0.62) 4.4   (1.17) 2.9   (0.65) 3.5 ! (1.21) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†)
Pacific Islander2 ---   (†) 6.7   (1.59) 12.4   (3.50) 8.5 ! (3.29)   (†)   (†) 10.0   (2.34) 8.3 ! (3.61) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†)
American Indian/Alaska
    Native
6.7 ! (3.06)   (†) 8.2   (1.69) 7.1 ! (2.61) 6.2 ! (2.05) 5.0   (0.89) 4.3 ! (1.58) 20.9   (4.15) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†)
Two or more races2 ---   (†) 5.2   (1.09) 7.0 ! (2.36) 13.3   (2.93) 3.5   (1.02) 5.4   (1.25) 6.7   (1.37) 5.8   (1.32) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†)

Grade
                                                                       
9th 5.2   (0.38) 4.4   (0.60) 5.3   (0.47) 5.1   (0.69) 3.7   (0.48) 3.4   (0.43) 4.4   (0.37) 5.4   (0.56) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†)
10th 4.7   (0.43) 5.0   (0.67) 5.1   (0.45) 5.6   (0.60) 4.5   (0.45) 4.1   (0.50) 4.8   (0.46) 4.4   (0.51) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†)
11th 5.2   (0.80) 4.7   (0.57) 4.7   (0.45) 5.0   (0.57) 4.0   (0.47) 4.2   (0.54) 4.6   (0.44) 5.2   (0.56) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†)
12th 5.5   (0.64) 5.0   (0.89) 4.3   (0.44) 4.5   (0.68) 4.8   (0.57) 4.8   (0.55) 4.1   (0.44) 5.1   (0.48) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†) ---   (†)
---Not available.
†Not applicable.
!Interpret data with caution. The coefficient of variation (CV) for this estimate is between 30 and 50 percent.
‡Reporting standards not met. The coefficient of variation (CV) for this estimate is 50 percent or greater.
1 The term "anywhere" is not used in the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) questionnaire; students were simply asked how many days during the previous 30 days they had at least one drink of alcohol.
2 Before 1999, Asian students and Pacific Islander students were not categorized separately, and students could not be classified as Two or more races. Because the response categories changed in 1999, caution should be used in comparing data on race from 1993 with data from later years.
3 Students were asked which of the following--"heterosexual (straight)," "gay or lesbian," "bisexual," or “not sure"--best described them.
4 In the question about drinking alcohol at school, "on school property" was not defined for respondents. Data on alcohol use at school were not collected from 2013 onward.
NOTE: Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity.
SOURCE: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Division of Adolescent and School Health, Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS), 1993 through 2019. (This table was prepared September 2020.)

2021 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest