Kids these days: Maybe they’re actually doing better than we thought. Or at least better than our own generations did as youths.

Here's why: A new report from Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) shows that both rates of underage drinking and underage binge drinking are on the decline.

The study of people ages 12 to 20 found that between 2002 and 2013, underage drinking dropped from 28.8 percent in 2002 to 22.7 percent, while binge drinking fell from 19.3 to 14.2 percent for the same age group.

Binge drinking is defined as five or more drinks one occasion within the past month for males, and four or more for females.

"We haven’t seen a decrease of this size in quite a while," said Fran Harding, director of SAMHSA's Center for Substance Abuse Prevention, who noted that alcohol is the No. 1 most abused substance among youths ages 12 to 20, topping tobacco and illegal drug use.

Binge drinking is almost always linked to intoxication, which commonly leads to unwanted sexual advances, drunk driving, violence and other dangerous incidents, Harding said.

It also accounts for the deaths of approximately 5,000 young people per year.

"We’re celebrating these numbers," she said. "We believe that this all fits in with the movement that this is a healthier country to live in."

Harding credits the outcome to law enforcement crackdowns in addition to SAMSHA’s work educating parents, youth and communities on the dangers of alcohol, much of which has spread via social media. In recent years, SAMHSA has led campaigns aimed at giving parents tips and resources on how best to address the dangers of alcohol with their teens.

"Parents want their children to be safe," Harding said. "They don’t want their young person to drink, but they don’t know what to say."

But binge drinking rates for adults remain higher.

In 2013, 24.6 percent of American adults ages 18 or older reported themselves as binge drinkers. That compares to 56.4 percent who reported drinking at all in the past month, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Additionally, a separate study released in June by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism found that alcohol use disorder (AUD) has increased significantly over the last decade.

AUD is the medical diagnosis for problem drinking that causes mild to severe distress or harm. The study, published in JAMA Psychiatry, also found that almost one-third of adults have had an AUD at some point in their lives.

So how much booze are we really drinking?

U.S. alcohol consumption averages 8.6 liters of pure alcohol per year, which is slightly less than the average for European countries, according to "Tackling Harmful Alcohol Use," a study released in May by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which includes 34 developed nations.

That’s roughly the equivalent of 100 bottles of wine per year per person.

Needless to say, there's room for improvement among all age groups. And SAMHSA hopes to see the underage drinking numbers continue to decline as well.

"We’re hoping that we’re not there yet,” Harding said. “We’re trying to bring that alcohol number down much farther than it already is."