Maine Facts

What you should know about teen alcohol use in our state

To support prevention efforts, the Office of Substance Abuse tracks alcohol use and abuse among adolescents in grades 8 through 12. In addition to the Maine Youth Drug and Alcohol Use Survey (MYDAUS), a random phone survey of parents across Maine asked what parents believed was happening in their households with regard to underage alcohol use.

Here are the facts:

8th Graders - approximately 13-14 yrs. old
36.7% lifetime use
20.5% past 30-day use
7.7% binge drinking

9th Graders - approximately 14-15 yrs. old
50.1% lifetime use
30.8% past 30-day use
13.7% binge drinking

10th Graders - approximately 15-16 yrs. old
61.3% lifetime use
38.2% past 30-day use
19.7% binge drinking

11th Graders - approximately 16-17 yrs. old
69.2% lifetime use
44.6% past 30-day use
25.2% binge drinking

12 Graders - approximately 17-18 yrs. old
73.8% lifetime use
49.1% past 30-day use
29.4% binge drinking

What Maine parents believe is not what Maine teens say:

57.9 % of Maine teens report that they have had more than a few sips of alcohol in their lives.
However, only 23% of Maine parents believe that their teen has had more than a few sips of alcohol.

36.4 % of teens report they have been drinking in the past 30 days.
However, only 6.2 % of Maine parents believe that their teen has been drinking in the month before the parent survey took place

18.9 % of Maine teens report that they have been binge drinking within two weeks of the survey.
However, only 0.6 % of Maine parents believe that their teen has been binge drinking within two weeks of the survey.

83.2 % of Maine parents believe that if their child drank alcohol without permission they would be caught.
However, 56.2% of Maine teens say they would not be caught by their parents if they drank alcohol without permission.

Full MYDAUS results
Maine Parents Survey

We need to find out more, do more to keep our teens from underage drinking.

Sources:

(1) 2006 MYDAUS/YTS survey of Maine 8th -12th grade students
(2) Maine Parent Survey, February 2006, Ethos Marketing & Design and Strategic Marketing Services

MaineParents.Net

Maine Facts