U.S. Military Alcohol Abuse Prevention and Rehabilitation Programs

Abstract

The misuse of alcoholic beverages among our youth has a significant impact on American institutions, including the military services. The number of young people who drink alcoholic beverages appears to be increasing. The age at which our youth begin to drink appears to be continually decreasing. By the 12th grade, a majority of young people drink alcoholic beverages, and, predictably, many experience problems associated with this drinking. Alcohol continually surfaces as a factor in highway fatalities, homicides, accidents, and suicides among the young. In fact, nearly 8,000 young Americans between the ages of 15 and 24 years die each year in alcohol-related accidents. This constitutes more deaths at this age for alcohol-related reasons than for any other cause. Additionally, 40,000 young people each year are injured in drinking and driving accidents (Initiatives for Alcohol Programs for Youth, 1978).