Girls close gap
in underage drinking

Isle experts are not surprised
by the results of a
new nationwide survey

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By Treena Shapiro
tshapiro@starbulletin.com

The gender gap that once separated underage drinkers has disappeared, and girls now drink as much or more than their male counterparts, according to a national survey.

The news comes as little surprise to those who treat substance abuse problems in Oahu teens. They say girls have kept pace with the boys in terms of alcohol and drug abuse for decades.

Tony Pfaltzgraff, executive director of the Kalihi YMCA, which runs outreach programs at 12 high schools on Oahu, said they were surprised when more girls had substance abuse problems as crystal methamphetamine gained popularity in the 1980s, but the genders have been about equal since then.

"For those working in the field, girls caught up a long time ago," he said.

The National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University released a study yesterday that indicated underage drinkers are as likely to be boys as girls (40 percent vs. 41 percent).

Pfaltzgraff thought what was more telling was the age of first intoxication. According to the study, individuals who drink before age 15 are four times more likely to become alcohol-dependent than those who wait until they are 21.

The YMCA program has found that 65 percent of the 750 adolescents it treats had their first drinks by the age of 14 and "they're drinking to get drunk," Pfaltzgraff pointed out. "That behavior leads to more problems later."

Andy M.P. Anderson, chief operating officer of Hina Mauka, a drug and alcohol treatment program, said some 15,000 Hawaii students have alcohol or drug addiction problems, according to a state Department of Health study.

Hina Mauka's 12 school-based treatment programs will probably treat 300 to 500 students this year, many of them girls.

"Addiction is a very equal-opportunity disorder or illness," he said.

Adolescents of both sexes are also more drawn toward beverages with attractive marketing campaigns like the Budweiser frogs, Anderson said, and sweet drinks that taste more like soda.

Bobby Benson Executive Director Elizabeth Urquhart said aggressive substance abuse behaviors previously manifested in boys earlier than in girls, who were more likely to withdraw or exhibit depression instead of getting into trouble with law enforcement.

"Girls' behavior is showing up now at an earlier age than previously," she said.

Elaine Wilson, chief of the state Health Department's Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division, said she had expected that girls would not be drinking as much as boys until 2006 and was surprised when the results of a 2000 survey of almost 26,000 public and private school students showed that at some grade levels, girls had already exceeded the boys.

While Hawaii teens drink less than the national average, Wilson noted that "daily drinkers," or those who drink at least 20 days out of the month, is double the national average.

"What that indicates is that of the students who are drinking, a higher percentage is using a lot," she said.

Alcohol is the most commonly abused substance because of its accessibility and exposure in the media, Wilson said.

"People by and large don't realize how serious alcohol consumption is. More people die of alcohol and alcohol-related injuries as all illegal drugs combined."