SANTA FE, NM – The 2013 Youth Risk and Resiliency Survey (YRRS) recently released by the Department of Health shows that significant improvements have been made in the area of underage drinking in New Mexico since 2011.
The YRRS showed that New Mexico saw significant reductions in the following key indicators related to underage drinking in grades 9-12 between the years of 2011 and 2013:
- Current drinking decreased from 36.9 percent to 28.9 percent, down 21.68 percent;
- Binge drinking decreased from 22.4 percent to 17.1 percent, down 23.66 percent;
- Drinking and driving decreased from 9.3 percent to 8.9 percent, down 4.3 percent; and,
- Drinking before the age of 13 decreased from 27.4 percent to 23.3 percent, down 14.96 percent.
These results support the notion that alcohol awareness programs like NMAA’s Life of an Athlete do have an impact on the reduction of underage drinking.
New Mexico Activities Association Executive Director Sally Marquez said, “We are very excited to see the survey information released by the Department of Health. The NMAA and Department of Transportation have worked hard to make the Life of an Athlete program a success and these statistics are definitely a sign that we are headed in the right direction.”
New Mexico Department of Transportation Traffic Safety Division Director Robert Archuleta said, “I believe TSD programs like NMAA’s Life of an Athlete have made a huge difference. This means better student-athletes and it certainly impacts long term alcohol use and dependence.”
The NMAA, with the support of the NMDOT Traffic Safety Division and the assistance of the American Athletic Institute, launched the Life of an Athlete program on July 29, 2010. The program’s main focus is on the negative effects of alcohol consumption upon an athlete’s athletic performance and life. The initial program targeted high school students but a curriculum update in the fall of 2013 has expanded this to reach middle school students as well.
For additional information pertaining to this announcement, please contact Dusty Young, NMAA Associate Director at (505) 977-5385 or dusty@nmact.org.
