FARGO - A national survey that shows North Dakota with the highest rate of binge drinking should be a wake-up call, state and local officials say.

The study said that more than 31 percent of North Dakotans age 12 and older said they had five or more drinks in one sitting during the month before the survey, which was conducted in 2002 and 2003.

The national average for binge drinking was 23 percent.

Fargo Police Chief Chris Magnus, who has been critical of adults for ignoring underage drinking problems, called the results discouraging.

"The perceived norm that binge drinking is inevitable, harmless or something that everybody does has to change," Magnus said Monday. "People do not see this as the serious problem that it is."

North Dakota also had the highest rate of alcohol dependence and abuse, at nearly 11 percent.

"I think it really highlights that parents, schools, churches, civic groups and law enforcement have to keep working together to establish some new social norms," Magnus said. "We continue to have loss of life and diminished quality of life as the result of alcohol dependence."

One college student in the Fargo-Moorhead area died of acute alcohol poisoning about a year ago when he participated in a drinking ritual to celebrate his 21st birthday. A week later, a high school student was hospitalized with a blood-alcohol level of 0.31 percent after drinking at a Fargo hotel. In North Dakota, a driver with a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 percent is considered intoxicated.

The survey by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration combines information from about 136,000 interviews. It included questions on drug use, drinking and treatment.

"This is a pretty reputable survey," said Don Wright, assistant director of the state Division of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. "This is their business. This is what they do."

The survey combined results in four age groups: 12 to 17, 18 to 25, 26 and older, and all people 12 and older. The results cannot be compared to previous years because the study was changed, but North Dakota has been among the worst binge drinking states, Wright said.

"This has been a problem area for the state in the past and it continues to be," he said. "We're continuing to try and beef up our treatment options and put some funds behind prevention efforts."

About 55 percent of North Dakotans in the 18-25 group reported binge drinking in the month before the survey. About 17 percent in the 12-17 group and about 28 percent in the 26-and-older category said they had five or more drinks at one time.

Magnus said the survey also shows that young people are less likely to abuse drugs and alcohol if they believe their parents do not approve.

"This is a real wake-up call to parents," he said.

(On the Net: 2003 National Survey on Drug Use and Health, oas.samhsa.gov.)