Insight into young drinking

Wine is the favoured tipple of girls aged between 10 and 15 and beer and lager that of boys of the same age. More than 24 per cent of Year 8 pupils (12 year olds) and up to 44 per cent of Year 10 pupils have consumed at least one of these drinks

These are among the findings of The Schools Health Education Unit in their report Young People in 2003*. The report is based on The Health Behaviour Questionnaire involving 15, 526 young people.

One of the most worrying trends observed in the report is that the “inclusion of figures from Year 6 suggests that alcohol careers are established at an early age”. In addition to the widespread use of wines and beer, pre-mixed-spirits, such as Bacardi Breezer, become increasing popular over the early teen years. Experts working in the field of alcohol problems have noticed this trend and are having to deal with the problematic results among school children.

The table below also shows that more Year 10 females than males are drinking pre-mixedspirits, wines, and spirits, which tends to indicate that girls are following the same path over recent years as that taken by young women (Table 1).

In the report’s discussion of beer and lager consumption among this age group, the comparison is drawn between what was drunk in 1991 and 2003. In 1991 4 per cent of year 10 boys (and 12 per cent of those who had drunk at least one drink) had consumed at least five pints during the seven day period covered by the questionnaire. In 2003 this had risen to 9 per cent and 33 per cent.

Quoting its own director, Professor John Balding on a study he conducted into alcopops, the report comments “we concluded that the consumers of alcoholic soft drinks tended also to consume a wider variety of other alcoholic drinks”. The greater likelihood of “alcopoppers” drinking away from home was also noted.

As far as spirits are concerned, the Year 10 females “overtook the males as spirit drinkers in 1996, although the females have always been behind the males in Year 8. Clearly they develop a taste for strong beverages around the age of 14.” Researchers suspect that the growth of spirit-based drinks included in the amorphous term alcopop have enhanced the trend. Whereas in 1991 3 per cent of 14-15 year old females (and 23 per cent of the who had consumed at least one drink) had at least five units of spirits over the seven days covered by the questionnaire, in 2003 the comparable figures were 5 per cent and twenty six per cent.

The report published a table indicating alcohol units consumed (Table2).

As far as frequency of consumption is concerned, there is an unsurprising increase as the children get older. In both Year 8 and Year 10 male drinkers outnumbered the females and in addition drank more frequently. Whilst “on average more than half the drinkers drank on only one day daring the past week”, 10 per cent of Year 10 males and 8 per cent of Year 10 females drank on three days or more. The report comments: “We see that by Year 8 at least half the potential Year 10 drinkers have already acquired some taste for alcohol.” The researchers also observe that, whilst the drinking habits of adults in general are quite regular, those of young adults in the 18-25 age range is more likely to feature binge drinking. “For young people there is evidence to suggest that for some 13-16 year olds the figure of at least five alcoholic drinks in one session is not uncommon.” In other words it might well be the case that this report is recording the early formation of the binge drinking habit (Table 3).

From the evidence supplied to researchers by the young people, it Is clear that, despite the law, off-licences are the most important source of purchased alcoholic drink, especially in the case of the 14-15 year olds. The pub is the next source. The report claims that “alcohol purchased by young people is more likely to be connected to alcohol abuse and public nuisance than alcohol supplied in the home” (Table 4).

The report reveals that the largest proportion of these school children drink at home and that substantial numbers of Year 10 drinkers use all the listed venues (Table 5).

The reports comments that, whereas it is often stated that “the home may be a safe and supportive environment in which to explore the use of alcohol”, if we follow this course “we are effectively teaching young people to drink”.

* Young People in 2003, SHEU, 2004.