Post on 29-Jan-2018
Drinking amongst Young People in England in 2008
Selected statistics from the Information Centre’s annual report
• The proportion of young people who have never drunk alcohol is increasing
• The proportion of boys who say they’ve drunk in the last week is at it’s lowest in the last decade (18%)
• The proportion of girls who say they’ve drunk in the last week is at it’s lowest in the last decade (16%)
• The proportions who have never drunk falls with age.
• The proportion of boys, at every age, who say they have drunk in the last week is the lowest it has been in the last decade.
• After rising in the first half of the last decade the proportion of girls saying they have drunk in the last week has fallen back.
• Those who are drinking appear to be drinking more often than in the past (1.8 days).
• The proportions drinking on Friday and Saturday have grown.
Units
• Following a change in the way units are calculated it is now difficult to do comparisons with previous years figures.
• Of those who have drunk in the last week 36% of boys and 27% of girls say they had drunk 15 or more units of alcohol.
• What girls and boys drink appears to be culturally determined, with – boys drinking more beer than girls, and – girls drinking more spirits and alcopops
• Parents appear to be giving children alcohol to their children less often.
• Young people are increasingly drinking at home or parties and less at clubs or pubs.
• Amongst current drinkers the proportion of young people drinking on the street, in parks or outside increases as they get older.
• The heaviest drinkers are least likely to drink with their parents.
Family Perceptions
• Young people think their families tolerate their drinking (as long as it’s not too much) as they get older.
Drunk
• Girls are slightly more likely to have been drunk if they have drunk alcohol in the last 4 weeks
• Girls who have been drunk are more likely to have; felt ill or sick, had an argument, vomited, had their clothes damaged, and lost money than boys
• Boys are slightly more likely to have had a fight and been in trouble with the police
Lessons
• Most pupils have a relatively accurate view of the proportions of pupils of their own age who drink alcohol
• Recall of lessons has been relatively stable in recent years– Year 10 pupils are the most likely (68%) to recall a
lesson alcohol in the last year– Year 7 pupils are the least likely (45%)
Proportion of pupils who remembered receiving lessons about alcohol in the last year, by school year
Risk and Protective Factors
• Asian or black pupils were three times less likely to have drunk alcohol in the last week than white pupils
• Regular smokers were three times more likely to have drunk alcohol in the last week than non-smokers
• Pupils that had taken drugs in the last year were three times as likely to have drunk alcohol in the last week than those who had never taken drugs
• Smoking drinking and drug use among young people in England in 2008 can be downloaded from the Information Centre’s website at:
www.ic.nhs.uk