Historically, young men have consumed more alcohol than young women, but over the past several decades, that gender gap has narrowed. Now, young women’s alcohol consumption has outpaced young men’s consumption for the first time ever, according to a new study led by the University of Pittsburgh.
The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration defines binge drinking as five or more alcohol drinks per occasion for men and four or more alcohol drinks per occasion for women. Using the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, the authors sought out to determine how men and women’s binge drinking habits have changed over two periods: 2017-2019 and 2021-2023.
In 2017-2019, women had overall lower rates of alcohol consumption than men, with 22.6 women and 29.2 men reporting past-month binge drinking per every 100 people. During this time period, young women also had lower rates of recent binge drinking than young men, at 36.4 and 37.7 per 100 people, respectively.
By 2021-2023, both men and women of all ages had overall lower rates of past-month binge drinking compared to 2017-2019. Overall, 21.8 women and 25.7 men per every 100 people in the survey reported binge drinking within the past 30 days. However, the gender gap in alcohol consumption for young adults reversed in this time period. Among adults aged 18 to 25, 31.6 women and 29.9 men per every 100 people reported past-month binge drinking.
Prior research has found alcohol-related mortality rates have increased more in women than men in recent years. Based on this troubling trend and their recent findings, the authors believe clinicians should ensure young women are being appropriately screened for binge drinking. They also suggest future research should investigate the drivers leading to changes in Americans’ alcohol consumption, particularly among young adults.
In addition to scholars at the University of Pittsburgh, the study included authors from Harvard University and Duke University.