Parents are the #1 influence.
72% of youth report their parents as being
the biggest influence on their decision whether or not
to drink alcohol or engage in risky behaviors.1
North Dakota parents are taking the right steps
to promote the health and safety of their kids.
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Family dinner time71.7% of ND high school students eat dinner with their family three or more times per week2. |
Effective monitoring78.4% of ND high school students have parents or other adults in their family who usually ask them where they’re going and who they’ll be with2. |
Household expectations77.7% of ND high school students believe their parents or other adult family members have clear rules and consequences for their behavior2. |
Behavioral Health in ND Kids
BEHAVIORAL HEALTH: n. A state of mental or emotional being and/or choices and actions that affect wellness
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Over 1 in 4 (27.6%) of all ND high school students currently drink alcohol and 1 in 8 (12.5%) use marijuana.2 |  |
15.6% of ND high school students who drink alcohol report doing so to the point of binge drinking.2
That’s nearly the total enrollment of Grand Forks Central High School, Bismarck High School, Fargo South High School, Williston High School, and Dickinson High School combined.
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More than one quarter of all ND middle school students (26.2%) and one third of all ND high school students (30.5%) have felt so sad or hopeless every day for more than two weeks in the past year that they stopped doing their usual activities2 |  |
Of the high school students who felt sad and hopeless, 75% reported they would likely not talk with their parents or other adult family members about their feelings.2 |
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Over 1 in 5 (22.1%) ND middle school students and nearly 1 in 5 (18.8%) ND high school students report having seriously considered suicide in the past year.2 |  |
13% of ND high school students report having attempted suicide 1+ times in the past year.2 |
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Suicide is the 2nd leading cause of death in teens age 15-193. |  |
Between 1999 and 2016, North Dakota experienced the largest suicide rate increase in the United States among all ages, demographics, and socioeconomic groups (58%).4 |
Brain Development
Early use of alcohol and other drugs can damage the structure and function of the developing brain, which continues to mature until around age 25. This damage can be long-term and irreversible, potentially impacting the ability to make healthy decisions or function successfully in school and the workplace far beyond adolescence.5
Frontal Lobe
When alcohol affects the frontal lobes of the brain, a person may find it hard to control his or her emotions. Alcohol can increase the likelihood of a person acting without thinking, losing reason and inhibitions, or even becoming violent. Drinking alcohol over a long period of time can damage the frontal lobes forever.
Parietal Lobe
Alcohol slows down a person's reaction time and may limit fine motor skills.
Occipital Lobe
Alcohol can cause blurred or distorted vision and poor distance judgement.
Temporal Lobe
Alcohol can increase a person's blood pressure, hunger, thirst, and the urge to urinate. Alcohol can also cause slurred speech and can cause a person to have trouble remembering something he or she just learned, such as a name or a phone number.
Cerebellum
After drinking alcohol, a person lacks muscle coordination and balance. Their hands may be so shaky that they can't touch or grab things normally.
Brain Stem
When alcohol affects this part of the brain, a person will start to feel sleepy. Increased consumption can lead to unconscious. Alcohol also decreases a person's body temperature, putting them at increased risk for hypothermia.
Scroll over the brain below to learn more about the ways alcohol affects different parts of the brain.
Early age of first use
Early age of first use can put youth at risk of experiencing academic problems, violence, injury, and even mental health problems. It can also put them at risk of experiencing serious problems in adulthood, like chronic disease, addiction, and other mental illness.
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Youth who start drinking before age 13 are more likely to be victims or perpetrators of dating and peer violence.6 |
Compared to their non-drinking peers, at-risk teens who drink underage are 3x more likely to attempt suicide.6 |
Youth who start drinking before age 15 are 4x more likely to experience a substance use disorder later in life.7 |
Legal consequences
Substance use among children and teens is linked with injury, violence, poor academic performance, truancy, unprotected sexual activity, unwanted sexual advances, illicit drug use, and other illegal activity. And, the consequences can be devastating. In fact, convictions for DUI or other legal issues, even if they occurred while underage, may be a required disclosure on college applications, job applications, or for requests for financial aid, leading to missed opportunities down the line.
1 GfK Roper Report, 2020
2 ND Youth Risk Behavioral Survey (YRBS), 2019
3 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2017
4 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2018
5 Surgeon General’s Report on Alcohol, Drugs, and Health, 2016
6 American Academy of Pediatrics, 2008
7 National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. 2017
2 ND Youth Risk Behavioral Survey (YRBS), 2019
3 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2017
4 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 2018
5 Surgeon General’s Report on Alcohol, Drugs, and Health, 2016
6 American Academy of Pediatrics, 2008
7 National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. 2017
Why it Matters
Healthy bonding and attachment between parent and child is one of the biggest factors preventing behavioral health-related issues like drinking, drug use, depression, and anxiety. What’s more is that youth continually report their parents as being the biggest influence in their decision whether or not to drink alcohol or engage in risky behaviors. This means that whether a child is two or twenty, the guidance and support provided by their parents are essential to their health and safety.