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Digest of Education Statistics
2023 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 anywhere at least 1 day during the previous 30 days, by selected student characteristics: Selected years, 1993 through 2021
[Standard errors appear in parentheses]
Student characteristic199319951997199920012003200520072009201120132015201720192021
12345678910111213141516
   Total 48.0(1.06)51.6(1.19)50.8(1.43)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)22.7 (0.82)

Sex
  Male 50.1(1.23)53.2(1.33)53.3(1.22)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)18.8 (0.81)
  Female 45.9(1.32)49.9(1.79)47.8(1.99)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)26.8 (1.09)

Race/ethnicity
  American Indian/Alaska 
     Native 
45.3(7.18)51.4(7.18)57.6(3.79)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)32.0
 
(4.85)
  Asian1 ---(†)---(†)---(†)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)10.6 (0.80)
  Black 42.5(1.82)42.0(2.24)36.9(1.46)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)13.2 (1.01)
  Hispanic 50.8(2.82)54.7(2.56)53.9(1.96)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)22.9 (1.60)
  Pacific Islander1 ---(†)---(†)---(†)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)21.7 (5.08)
  White 49.9(1.26)54.1(1.77)54.0(1.51)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)25.9 (0.88)
  Two or more races1 ---(†)---(†)---(†)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)23.5 (1.81)

Sexual identity2
  Heterosexual ---(†)---(†)---(†)---(†)---(†)---(†)---(†)---(†)---(†)---(†)---(†)32.1 (1.30)29.7 (1.02)28.8 (1.00)21.6 (0.76)
  Gay or Lesbian ---(†)---(†)---(†)---(†)---(†)---(†)---(†)---(†)---(†)---(†)---(†)35.9 (3.87)33.7 (3.36)33.3 (4.08)20.5 (2.76)
  Bisexual ---(†)---(†)---(†)---(†)---(†)---(†)---(†)---(†)---(†)---(†)---(†)41.8 (2.46)38.4 (2.68)34.0 (2.21)31.6 (2.21)
  Not sure ---(†)---(†)---(†)---(†)---(†)---(†)---(†)---(†)---(†)---(†)---(†)34.6 (2.81)21.5 (2.77)25.3 (2.80)---(†)
  Other/questioning---(†)---(†)---(†)---(†)---(†)---(†)---(†)---(†)---(†)---(†)---(†)---(†)---(†)---(†)20.9 (1.50)

Grade
  9th 40.5(1.79)45.6(1.87)44.2(3.12)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)14.7 (1.04)
  10th 44.0(2.00)49.5(2.38)47.2(2.19)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)18.9 (1.82)
  11th 49.7(1.73)53.7(1.51)53.2(1.49)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)26.0 (0.92)
  12th  56.4 (1.35) 56.5 (1.64) 57.3 (2.50) 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) 32.2  (1.42)
---Not available.
†Not applicable.
1Before 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, 1995, and 1997 with data from later years.
2From 2015 to 2019, students were asked which of the following best described them: "heterosexual (straight)," "gay or lesbian," "bisexual," or "not sure." In 2021, the response options were updated to include "heterosexual (straight)," "gay or lesbian," "bisexual," "I am not sure about my sexual identity (questioning)," "I describe my sexual identity in some other way," or "I do not know what this question is asking." Students who selected "I do not know what this question is asking" are considered to be missing the sexual identity variable and thus excluded from the analyses. Because the response categories changed in 2021, caution should be used in comparing data on sexual identity from 2021 with data from earlier years.
NOTE: The term "anywhere" is not used in the Youth Risk Behavior Survey questionnaire; students were simply asked how many days during the previous 30 days they had at least one drink of alcohol. 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 2021. (This table was prepared July 2023.)

2023 Tables and Figures All Years of Tables and Figures Most Recent Full Issue of the Digest