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Guest Post: Promoting Alcohol Misuse Prevention this April

Written By: CAPT Jeffrey A. Coady, Psy.D., ABPP, Acting Director of SAMHSA’s Center for Substance Abuse Prevention and SAMHSA Region 5 Administrator , originally published by SAMHSA

This April, as we observe Alcohol Awareness Month, there is an important opportunity to highlight the positive impact of the effectiveness of underage drinking prevention strategies and messaging at all levels, while advancing proven strategies, exploring innovations, and highlighting the power of partnerships. 

Studies indicate that drinking can interfere with normal brain development. Drinking is also associated with decreased school performance, increased involvement with the legal system, use of other substances, and greater risk of injuries, including death from motor vehicle crashes.

Over the past 20 years, prevention efforts have made steady progress in reducing alcohol misuse among youth and young adults due to comprehensive evidence-based approaches by communities, states, and federal partners. According to the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, between 2002 and 2020, current drinking by adolescents and young adults has declined. Among 12- to 17-year-olds, current drinking declined from 34.6 percent in 2002 to 18.5 percent in 2020, and among 18- to 25-year-olds it declined from 77.9 percent to 69.5 percent during the same period. Going forward, we must keep this positive momentum and continue to maximize the keys to that success.  

Research from the Report to Congress on the Prevention and Reduction of Underage Drinking indicates that prevention strategies are most effective when implemented as part of a multifaceted approach that includes parents and families, law enforcement, health care providers, community organizations, schools and universities, local and state governments, and the federal government.

One way to advance this work is by putting tools and resources in the hands of parents, caregivers, and others who interact with young people every day and have the power to engage them in conversations about the importance of alcohol avoidance and other healthy lifestyle choices. 

SAMHSA has resources to help parents, caregivers, and other caring adults talk with young people about the risks and harms of using alcohol and other substances of misuse. Here are a few ways to connect youth to alcohol misuse awareness and prevention resources:

Together, with continued energy and dedication, we can help our nation’s youth and young adults live healthy lives without the harmful effects of drinking and other substance misuses.


1 Pfefferbaum, A., Kwon, D., Brumback, T., Thompson, W. K., Cummins, K., Tapert, S. F., Brown, S. A., Colrain, I. M., Baker, F. C., Prouty, D., De Bellis, M. D., Clark, D. B., Nagel, B. J., Chu, W., Park, S. H., Pohl, K. M., & Sullivan, E. V. (2018). Altered Brain Developmental Trajectories in Adolescents After Initiating Drinking. The American Journal of Psychiatry, 175(4), 370–380. https://doi.org/10.1176/appi.ajp.2017.17040469
2 U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. (2020). Report to Congress on the Prevention and Reduction of Underage Drinking. Retrieved from https://www.stopalcoholabuse.gov/media/ReportToCongress/2020/report_main/2020_Report_to_Congress.pdf
3 Popovici, I., Homer, J. F., Fang, H., & French, M. T. (2012). Alcohol use and crime: Findings from a longitudinal sample of U.S. adolescents and young adults. Alcoholism, Clinical and Experimental Research, 36(3), 532–543. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1530-0277.2011.01641.x
4 Hingson, R. W., Heeren, T., & Winter, M. R. (2006). Age at drinking onset and alcohol dependence: age at onset, duration, and severity. Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, 160(7), 739–746. https://doi.org/10.1001/archpedi.160.7.739
5 NIAAA. Underage drinking. 2020. https://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/UnderageDrinking/UnderageFact.htm. Accessed
March 28, 2022.

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