Prevalence of Alcohol Use Among Youth In Germany

"According to the findings of the current DAS (BZgA 2012a) the proportion of 12-17 year old adolescents who have drunk alcohol within the 30 days prior to the survey is 42.0% (30-day prevalence), 14.2% of this age group drink alcohol regularly (i.e. at least once a week), 15.2% of adolescents have drunk five glasses of alcohol one after the other at a drinking occasion at least once in the last 30 days (binge drinking) and 3.7% at least four times (frequent binge drinking). In the case of young adults in the age of 18-25, the 30-day prevalence of alcohol consumption is 81.9%, 39.8% regularly consume alcohol. The 30-day prevalence rate for binge drinking is 41.9% and the prevalence of frequent binge drinking is 12.9%. The alcohol consumption levels for male adolescents and young adults are higher than that of their female counterparts in all the described consumption indicators. Alcohol consumption amongst adolescents from 12-17 years old has declined in the last few years. The 30-day prevalence of alcohol consumption as well as the regular consumption of alcohol, binge drinking in the last 30 days and frequent binge drinking were not as common in 2011 as they were still in 2004. Trends amongst 18-25 year old young adults since 2004 have varied. In addition to downward trends, increases have also been observed so that no clear trends can be ascertained for this age group."