An annual report from the state Liquor Control Board shows western Pennsylvania teenagers are more likely to drink heavily than teens in other parts of the state, and Indiana County teens are much more likely to be binge drinkers.
Based on a 2015 survey of middle school and high school students, the report places the state average of students who admitted binge drinking in the previous two weeks at 7.8 percent.
Indiana County teenagers were 11.4 percent more likely to have had five or more drinks in a single session. That’s the fifth highest percentage of binge drinking. We also had the fifth highest percentage of teens who were willing to try alcohol, at 31.4 percent.
Elk, Venango, Allegheny, and Huntingdon counties had the highest percentage of binge drinking teens. Elk County’s rate was 23.2 percent, almost twice as high as Venango. Armstrong and Lawrence were only a tenth of a percentage point behind Indiana County, at 11.3.
Twelve counties did not participate in the anonymous survey because they did not have enough school districts to take part without risking identifying specific students. And of those counties which did report, not all school districts within their borders participated.
