Table 2.
Findings from a selection of studies on alcohol use among children
| Country | Context/population | Age in years | Definition of intake and cut-off | Prevalence, rounded to the closest whole number |
| Uganda24 | Children with a high score (≥ 14) on the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire | 5–8 | Alcohol dependence and abuse according to The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition criteria | 8% |
| Argentina25 | Elementary school children | 8–12 | Alcohol taste and repeated drinking (no distinction between taste and whole drink) | Taste: 66% at 8 years, 47% at 9 years, 82% at 12 years Repeated drinking: 28% at 8 years, 23% at 9 years, 55% at 12 years |
| Vietnam,14 also includes data from Indonesia, the Philippines, and Thailand | Non-migrant vs migrant households where one or both parents were transnational migrants | 9–11 | Alcohol, ‘Have you ever had a drink of beer, wine, or liquor—not just a sip or a taste of someone else’s drink— more than two or three times in your life?’ | Indonesia: 0.2% Philippines: 6% Thailand: 4% Vietnam: 17% (21% at 9 years, 14% at 10 years 15% at 11 years) |
| Vietnam27 | Population survey, urban, rural, mountain | 10–19 | Alcohol intake, cut-off was not specified | 6% at age 10–11 11% at 12–13 11% at 14–15 28% at 16–17 30% at 18–19 |
| USA15 | Random sampling of child–parent dyads for a longitudinal study | 8–10 | If they ever had a sip or a taste of beer, wine or liquor and if they ever had a drink of alcohol (not just a sip or a taste of someone else’s drink) in their life. | Sips/tastes only: 35% at 8 years 48% at 10 years A drink of alcohol: 5% at 8 years 7% at 10 years |
| Peru28 | Rural | 5–12 | Parent report of child consumption of the local alcoholic brews Chicha de Jora and Clarito, made from fermented maize. The cut-off for amount was not specified. | 61% Chicha de Jora 31% Clarito |
| England26 | Birth cohort | 10 | Child report of alcohol use past 6 months, binary yes/no assessment, no specified cut-off. | 1% of girls 3% of boys (Before and after imputation) |
| Resource-constrained settings16 | Systematic review of substance use (including alcohol) among street-connected children | 0–24 | Pooled prevalence of alcohol use from 29 of the included studies. Quantity and frequency of intake were not specified, but the systematic review included studies on lifetime use and current use, defined as intake within the past 30 days. | Pooled prevalence of alcohol use: 41% |