The large majority of alcohol consumers are likely to have been intoxicated to some degree at
some point in their lives. For ex ample, in 2010, 44% of 12th-grad e students admitted to having
been “drunk in the past year,” with more than 70% of college students reporting the same.
Development and Course
Intoxication usually occurs as an episode usua lly developing over minutes to hours and typi-
cally lasting several hours. In th e United States, the average age at first intoxication is approx-
imately 15 years, with the highest prevalence at approximately 18–25 years. Frequency and
intensity usually decrease with further advancin g age. The earlier the onset of regular intoxi-
cation, the greater the likelihood the individual will go on to develop alcohol use disorder.
Risk and Prognostic Factors
Temperamental. Episodes of alcohol intoxication increase with personality characteris-
tics of sensation seeking and impulsivity.
Environmental. Episodes of alcohol intoxication increase with a heavy drinking envi-
ronment.
Culture-Related Diagnostic Issues
The major issues parallel the cultural differ ences regarding the use of alcohol overall.
Thus, college fraternities and sororities ma y encourage alcohol intoxication. This condi-
tion is also frequent on certain dates of cultur al significance (e.g., New Year’s Eve) and, for
some subgroups, during specif ic events (e.g., wakes following funerals). Other subgroups
encourage drinking at religious celebrations (e.g., Jewish and Catholic holidays), while
still others strongly discourage all drinking or intoxication (e.g., some religious groups,
such as Mormons, fundamenta list Christians, and Muslims).
Gender-Related Diagnostic Issues
Historically, in many Western societies, ac ceptance of drinking and drunkenness is more