Drunkenness and heavy drinking among 11 year olds - Findings from the UK Millennium Cohort Study

Yvonne Kelly,Annie Britton,Noriko Cable,Amanda Sacker,Richard G Watt

doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2016.07.010

Yvonne Kelly, Annie Britton + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2016.07.010

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Journal: Preventive Medicine	Publication Date: Jul 10, 2016
Citations: 10	License type: cc-by

Affiliation: University College London

Abstract

Heavy drinking among young people is linked to negative consequences including other risky behaviours, educational failure and premature mortality. There is a lack of research examining factors that influence heavy and binge drinking in early adolescence as prior work has focused on older teenagers. The objective of this paper was to identify individual and family factors associated with drunkenness and episodes of heavy drinking in early adolescence. We analysed data on 11,046 11year olds from the UK Millennium Cohort Study. Multivariate logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios for associations. 1.2% of participants reported having been drunk, and 0.6% reported having had 5 or more drinks in a single episode. Participants who reported drunkenness were more likely to be boys (1.6% vs 0.7%, p<0.01), to have socioemotional difficulties (2.6% vs 1.0%, p<0.001), to report antisocial behaviours (none=0.6%, 1=2.0%, 2 or more=7.0%, p<0.001), report truancy (6.0% vs 1.0%, p<0.001), smoke cigarettes (12.0% vs 0.8%, p<0.001). Parental drinking did not appear to be associated with the odds of drunkenness. Associated with higher odds of drunkenness were: having friends who drank (OR=5.17); having positive expectancies towards alcohol (OR 2+=2.02); ever having smoked cigarettes (OR=5.32); the mother-child relationship not being close (OR=2.17). Associated with a reduced odds of drunkenness was having a heightened perception of harm from drinking 1–2 drinks daily (OR - some risk=0.48, great risk=0.40). Our findings support policies aimed at multiple levels, starting in the preadolescent years, which incorporate individual, family, and peer factors.

Highlights

Drinking rates among teenagers in the UK are higher than the European average (Hibell et al, 2012)
Heavy and binge drinking patterns among young people are of concern as they are linked to negative consequences including educational failure, other risky behaviours and premature mortality, and these drinking patterns potentially track into adulthood (Davies, 2013; Paavola et al, 2004; World University College London (Health) Organization, 2014)
One study from the US estimated that 0.2% of 11 year olds had either been drunk or had drank heavily (Donovan and Molina, 2013), and a school based survey reported that 0.4% of 11–13 year olds in the UK had binge drank (Fuller and Hawkins, 2014)

Summary

Introduction

Drinking rates among teenagers in the UK are higher than the European average (Hibell et al, 2012). There is a lack of research examining the factors that influence heavy and binge drinking in early adolescence as prior work has focused on older teenagers (Davies, 2013; Marshall, 2014). Improving our understanding of the influences linked to heavy drinking patterns in the early adolescent years could help inform alcohol harm. The theoretical framework developed by Kuther (2002) has been tested empirically in previous reports suggesting that peer, parent and family factors are all important influences on drinking behaviours in older teenagers (Cable and Sacker, 2008). Drawing on Kuther's theory of drinking behaviours, the objective of this paper was to identify individual and family factors associated with drunkenness and episodes of heavy drinking in early adolescence. We analysed data from the UK Millennium Cohort Study when participants were aged 11 years

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