One in ten teenagers has been involved in binge drinking in the last month according to new research which also shows that girls are more likely to binge drink than boys, that teenagers who binge drink are more likely to have parents who drink heavily and that middle class parents drink alcohol more frequently than poorer parents.
The ISER research, which is being presented at the Understanding Society 2013 Conference this week, comes just as the Government has shelved plans to introduce a minimum price for a unit of alcohol in England and Wales, one of the policies it was considering to curb binge drinking in the UK.
It shows that:
- 12% of girls and 8% of boys admitted binge drinking in the last month
- Nearly one in three 16 year-olds compared with one per cent of ten year-olds admitted binge drinking in the last month, showing a marked increase in binge drinking over the teenaged years
- Young people whose parents drank weekly were five times as likely to report binge drinking in the past month compared to youth whose parents did not drink in the past 12 months
- Young people living in England (10%) and Wales (14%) were more likely to report binge drinking at least once in the past month compared to young people in Scotland (7%) and Northern Ireland (6%)
Researcher Dr Cara Booker, used information provided by nearly 5,000 young people and their parents who take part in Understanding Society.
Participants in the survey were asked questions about their drinking behaviour in recent weeks and months including how often they had drunk in the last month and the number of times they had drunk five or more drinks in the past month, a measure of binge drinking.
Among parents, who were asked about frequency of drinking in the past 12 months and maximum daily alcohol consumption in past seven days, fathers were more likely to drink alcohol weekly, 59%, than mothers, 50%. Mothers were also more likely than fathers to report drinking less than monthly, or not drinking in the past 12 months.
When asked about the frequency of their drinking, heavy drinkers were much more likely to also drink weekly, 84 per cent compared to regular, 58 per cent, and light drinkers, 15 per cent.
Children of parents who drank weekly over the previous 12 months were more than four times more likely to have binge drunk at least once in the past month.
Commenting on the findings, Dr Booker said:
βThe Government says it wants to curb binge and heavy drinking, particularly among young people, and change the drinking culture in the UK. This research helps us better understand the underlying drinking norms, which are transmitted through peer and family networks and indicates that the family might be an important place to start when it comes to formulating policies aimed at achieving this.β