Why is underage drinking and binge drinking so prevalent in rural communities?
Binge drinking is defined as drinking five or more drinks at the same time or within a couple of hours of each other on at least one day in the past 30 days. It can also be defined as drinking with the intent of getting drunk, often mixing drinks, drinking as much as possible in a short period of time, and drinking to the point at which one loses control. According to Underage Drinking in Rural Areas, about 40% percent of youth 12 to 20 years of age reported binge drinking in the past 30 days. This translates into more than 7,000,000 youth. According to the same survey, the study showed that youths aged 12 to 17 who lived in rural areas reported higher rates of binge alcohol use than nonrural youths. The binge drinking rate was 4% among 12 or 13 year old rural youth as compared with 1.6% among nonrural youth of the same age. The same pattern held for youth ages 14 or 15 (12% versus 9%) and for youth ages 16 or 17 (25% versus 21%). In contrast, the prevalence of alcohol use was lower in
