Survey: Underage drinking a big problem in Montana

Montana has a drinking problem.

The state consistently ranks among the country’s worst states for rates of binge drinking and alcohol-related fatalities. In 2012, Montanans reported driving drunk at nearly twice the rate of the national average, and more than 20 percent of residents admitted to drinking excessively within a 30-day period.

Alcohol consumption is also impacting the state’s youth — 74.8 percent of high school seniors reported consuming alcohol during their lifetime, and 27.1 percent had a drink within the last month in 2016, according to the state Department of Public Health and Human Services prevention needs assessment survey. Students as young as eighth grade are taking their first sips and nearly 14 percent of Montana eighth-graders reported consuming at least one alcoholic beverage last year.

To curtail the spread of underage drinking, the state agency’s Prevention Resource Center has partnered with the Center for Health and Safety Culture at Montana State University to research how parents are making an impact on their children’s life choices and what they can do better.

The agencies mailed a survey to 6,400 Montana households in late November to gather data on parents’ attitudes about anything from alcohol consumption to discipline, to help develop tools and strategies to reduce rates of underage alcohol consumption.

“We know that in Montana, parents are the No. 1 influence over a child regarding whether or not they’re going to engage in risky behavior such as drinking,” Prevention Resource Center Director Vicki Turner said. “We think that parents are very concerned about the future of their kids and their health and their safety, but we also believe that they may not have the tools to have those difficult conversations. What we’re trying to do is to develop some parent messaging around ways parents can talk to their kids at all ages and stages from 0 to 20 about underage drinking.”

Turner said underage drinking is a big problem in the state, even though rates of underage drinking among high school students have decreased in the last few years. Statewide, alcohol use for eighth-graders dropped by more than 12 percent from 2012 to 2016, and fell by just over 3 percent among high school seniors over the same time period. But all grade levels surveyed — 8, 10 and 12 — were at least 10 percent more likely to use alcohol than the national average.

“If we want to change the culture in our state regarding underage drinking … we need to figure out a way to work with parents,” Turner said. “We know that the majority of kids do not drink, but we really want to hone in on some messaging … [drinking is] very much is part of our culture so what we’re trying to do is to think differently about our culture.”

Turner said surveys are due back within two weeks; the agencies hope to have acquired the necessary data by the end of December. From there, they’ll be able to decide which tools will be most beneficial for parents and begin to formulate and test those. Turner said she’s not sure exactly what form the preventative tools will take, but noted they may include ideas for starting conversations about underage drinking, how bullying and peer pressure play into the issue and how parents can intervene as their children grow older.

“I just think it’s a really good opportunity to really have parent engagement in this conversation for the first time on a statewide basis,” Turner said. “This is just the beginning.”

Reporter Mackenzie Reiss may be reached at 758-4433 or mreiss@dailyinterlake.com.