Governor Noem should be less worried about getting kids off their X-Boxes and more worried about getting them off their beer:
A new study says South Dakota is the 11th highest state for underage alcohol use and the 9th highest for binge drinking.
The federal government study looks at the percent of people ages 12-20 who have drank or binge drank (4+ drinks in one sitting) within the last 30 days. South Dakota’s stats are 20.9% for alcohol use and 13.7% for binge drinking [Todd Epp, “S.D. 11th Highest for Underaged Drinking, 9th for Binge Drinking,” KELO Radio, 2019.04.09].
Massachusetts tops both categories, beating South Dakota by several percentage points. The New England states top our youth-drinking rates in both categories (with the exception of Maine, which is slightly below our rate of underage binge drinking).
North Dakota and Montana youth hit the hooch at higher rates than South Dakota’s young people. Young people in Nebraska and Wyoming appear to feel the least need in the region for self-medication.
Gotta keep those teen pregnancies coming. The rich kids can go off and get the abortions while the poor have the kids…by themselves. Beer distributors like what they are seeing, more profits.
I recognize my younger self in these statistics.
Seems like there may be a clear correlation between temperature and alcohol consumption. More done in the colder areas. So maybe global warming should happen and then less need for alcohol consumption as the waters will rise along with temps so there’s more summer fun to be had.
I am surprised at the low rates in the South. I expected it to be higher there. I wonder at what age “underage” begins in those states. Is that variable factored into these results? And if it is, congrats to the Southeastern United States.
Steve definitely noticed the same thing I did, that colder temps seem to equal more drinking.
I’d be curious to see maps like these for folks under 18 who use other “feel-goodies” like prescription drugs, marijuana, etc.
Also, maybe the people in the north half of the country are just more honest and the southern folks value the perception of clean living more so they lie on surveys like this.
I have been asking this question for years, but how in the world do people consider marijuana to be a such a problem and alcohol seems to fly under the radar. I know a lot of people are ignorant, but can that large of a percentage of our society really not notice how terrible alcohol abuse is compared to drug abuse? Both are bad, sure, but the scale of consequences is tipped so heavily against alcohol that I can’t find any rationality in having alcohol legal while marijuana is illegal.
I did ALL my binge drinking at UMass, so I understand this perfectly.
Well, My alternative hypothesis is the culture and custom of the immigrants. There are a lot of Italians and Irish in Massachusetts. The Midwest has a lot of Germans. Wine, whiskey and beer. In the South, they drink the Bible, and in Utah, Nevada and Idaho, they drink the Book of Mormon.
In SoDak, they drink the slop they’re sent from Pierre.
In SoDak, we are forced to drink the slop the insaner district 30 legislatures send us.
Gordon Pedersen, a pathetic Republican pig from Wall, who spent about 20 years tormenting us as a state rep in Pierre, advocated 18-for-alcohol because it would help “keep kids off ‘drugs.'”
Mr. Pederson, as swell a fellow as you’ll ever meet from Wall, spent 30 years in the legislatures and had as fine a coin collection as you’ll ever see.
Northerners drink more because of the long winters. Crazy Catholic families that drink a lot I can see in Massachusetts and the Bible Belt South would be against alcohol.
Stereotype much, Jenny?
And here I thought Minnesotans drank more than South Dakotans. It sure seems like it, especially during the NFL season.
Do you think that your anti-Catholic bigotry adds to this thread, Jenny?
For once, Steve P intersects with science: research from the University of Pittsburgh finds people from colder climates drink more alcohol. But fueling ecological disaster to reduce teen drinking rates seems to be a less-than-optimal solution.
Mormons certainly contribute to the lower drinking rates in the states Donald notices. I’d be curious to hear what factors would lead Catholics in general to drink more, if that really is the case.
Irish Catholics, Cory?
I have known a lot of alcoholic Priests, Cory. They turn to drinking and smoking as it can be a lonely life for them when they are not allowed to get married.
Well, loneliness could certainly explain a lot of high-plains drinking.
Mike, can you separate Irish from Catholic as a factor in drinking culture?
So you go from “(Massachusetts is full of) crazy Catholic families that drink a lot” to “a lot of alcoholic priests.” Your bigotry is getting more offensive, Jenny.
Cory, either factor on its own is plenty of reason.
Is there a genetic predisposition for certain cultures like the Irish to abuse alcohol, CIRD and Cory? Genetics is everything and we’re just scratching the surface of research on it.
Did Catholicism accidentally unleash the mutation when alcohol has never been banned in it. Did that first sip of wine do it? It is not a sin like in a lot of other Christian Churches.
Just thought you all would like to know that in the Lutheran
Church Missouri Synod budweiser is aka lutheran pop.
Ha! Nice cultural note, Edwin.
I don’t think these researchers are bigoted:
I’d be curious to see how many of the binge-drinking kids have completed confirmation, how many go to church and how regularly and how that attendance reflects parental religious practice.
And from Prof. Ruth C. Engs: “Numerous studies from both the United States and Europe have suggested that From Professor Ruth C. Engs, “Protestants and Catholics: Drunken Barbarians and Mellow Romans?” 2000: “Protestants consume less alcohol but perceived great problems with the substance. In contrast Roman Catholics consume more alcohol but do not perceived its consumption as problematic. The reason for this may be based in the distant past. Recent research (Engs 1991a; 1995) has suggested that in antiquity different drinking cultures developed in the Northern and in the Mediterranean areas of western Europe. This was due to a number of factors including the ecosystem, seasonal variations, climate, and socio-political structures.”