The age of onset of regular (> once a month) drinking has been reported to be “15.2 ± 1.2 years old (M ± SD) for high-risk children and 16.5 ± 1.2 years old for low-risk children” on the basis of a sample of 125 children (Hill, Shen, Lowers, & Locke, 2000, p. 269). Of the total 10.8 million underage Americans (12–20 years) who reported consuming alcohol in the past 30 days, 7.2 million (or 19%) were binge drinkers (≥5 drinks on the same occasion on ≥1 day in past 30 days) as defined by National Survey on Drug Use and Health (SAMHSA, 2007). Early onset of binge drinking or exposure to binging has been linked to the increased risk of binging in adulthood (Wechsler, Dowdall, Davenport, & Castillo, 1995; Weitzman, Nelson, & Wechsler, 2003). Other factors that predict binging include the following: never being married, having a grade point average of B or less, and placing little importance on religion.
