The Balding report confirms that alcopop drinkers do drink more

Teenagers who drink alcopops do drink more than non-alcopop drinkers and they are also more likely to consume the drinks outside in a public place rather than at home.

These are among the range of findings of a new report `Young People and Alcohol: Its Use and Abuse', largely funded by the Institute of Alcohol Studies, and produced by John Balding and the Schools Health Education Unit at the University of Exeter.

The report is based on a survey of over 8,000 boys and girls aged 12-13 and 14-15 living in ten regions of England. As well as obtaining information on alcohol consumption, the survey also enquired into children's attitudes and beliefs about alcohol and also asked about their family circumstances and their experience of aggression at home in relation to alcohol use. The main findings here are that around a quarter of teenagers report experiencing physical aggression in the home during the last three months. Most instances of aggression appear to occur in the absence of alcohol, but a minority (4 -5 per cent) of teenagers report that physical aggression occurs only after someone in the home has been drinking.

Alcopops and Alcohol Consumption

The survey found that more than 1 in 5 12-13 year old boys and girls (Year 8) report having consumed alcopops in the previous week, this proportion increasing to nearly 1 in 3 in Year 10. The report also shows that by Year 10 the majority of boys and girls are regular consumers of alcohol and that those who consume alcopops drink considerably more alcohol than those who do not. In other words, alcopops clearly appeal to heavier drinking children and, presumably, themselves encourage heavier consumption. By year 10, over 13 per cent of boys and nearly 10 per cent of girls drink four days a week or more and 7.4 per cent of boys and just under 10 per cent of girls report exceeding the old `sensible limits' proposed for adults of 21 and 14 drinks per week for men and women respectively.

The home - their own or a friend's or a relation's - is the main place where alcohol is consumed, although substantial minorities report that their parents do not always know about their drinking at home. Between 5 and 7 per cent report that their parents never know.

Substantial minorities also report drinking in pubs, clubs and discos. By Year 10, up to a third of teenagers report drinking outside in a public place, with alcopop drinkers being more likely to do this than non-alcopop drinkers.

Aggression at Home

Over half (55 per cent) report some experience of verbal aggression in the home, with up to 30 per cent reporting experience of physical aggression. Verbal aggression after their own consumption of alcohol is reported by 40 per cent of teenagers and by 30 per cent after consumption by someone else in the household. The mother is the other member of the household most likely to be mentioned in this context.

There appears to be a link between unsupervised drinking at home and experience of verbal or physical aggression. Around 45 per cent of teenagers who do not drink at home report some experience of aggression during the last three months. In teenagers who do drink at home, but whose parents always know, the proportion rises to 53 per cent. If parents usually know, there is a rise to 65 per cent and where parental awareness is even lower, the figure rises to 71 per cent. A possible interpretation of these findings is that whatever social or personal difficulty is prompting the aggression also results in a lack of openness about home drinking.

There is also a link between family composition and experience of aggression, both alcohol -related and non-alcohol-related. In this survey, experience of aggression was most likely to be reported by the older girls, and for family types other than the mother and father type. In relation to non-alcohol related physical aggression, just under 1 in 5 Year 10 girls living with mother and father reported recent experience, the figure rising to just under one in three living with a parent and another adult partner.

Alcohol-related aggression was also least likely to be reported for the mother and father type of family.

Some Other Findings from the Survey

Young people say they drink alcohol to feel good and because friends do and, as they get older, to get drunk.
Young people think adults drink alcohol mainly to cope with emotions, to relax, and to be with friends.
Young people think that while saying `no' to an alcoholic drink is acceptable in principle, they find it difficult to do themselves.
Around 12 per cent of Year 8's say that they intend never to drink alcohol at all. However, by Year 10 this proportion has dropped to 7-8 per cent.
Over 70 per cent of young people (83 per cent of the girls) say that they intend never to drink and drive.
Similar proportions say that they intend to avoid being a passenger in a car with a driver who has been drinking.
Ten percent of young people believe that alcohol could lead to improvement in health. However, three quarters believe the opposite.