What do we know about young peoples drinking habits

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What do we know about young peoples drinking
habits

• Adrian Furnham
• Professor of Psychology
• University College London

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Binge Drinking Causes, Consequences and Cures

• By Professor Adrian Furnham,
• University College London

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Most adults know well the rules of responsible
and sensible drinking.

• Drink in moderation
• Drink for pleasure rather than to get drunk
• Do not drink when tired or feeling ill
• Eat when drinking
• Drink water and soft drinks while drinking
  alcohol
• Do not drink before driving, sporting activities
  or work

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Binge Drinking it is usually defined as five or
more alcoholic drinks consumed in one sitting.
Various researchers have objected to the
implicitly acceptable definition of the
consumption of 5 or more alcoholic beverages on
one occasion (De Jong, 2003) makes 3 objections

• 1. This definition takes no account of other
  important factors like
• The drinkers weight and height
• The drinkers personal drinking history
• The time period over which the alcohol was
  consumed
• Whether food was consumed with the drink.
• 2. It must really also include the idea of
  intermittent yet prolonged episodes of alcohol
  abuse.
• 3.  Using cut-off points assumes that consumption
  below that level is safe.

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WHO BINGES?

•  44 of US college students engaged in binge
  drinking during the two weeks before the survey
•  51 of the men drank 5 or more drinks in a row
•  40 of the women drank 4 or more drinks in a row
•  Students more likely to binge drink are white,
  age 23 or younger, and are residents of a
  fraternity or sorority. If they were binge
  drinkers in high school, they were three times
  more likely to binge in college.
• Over half the binge drinkers, almost one in four
  students, were frequent binge drinkers, that is,
  they binged three or more times in a two-week
  period. While one in five students reported
  abstaining from drinking alcohol.

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Surveys of students drinkers have tended to find
the following

• Heavy drinkers tend to be young while males
• It peaks at ages 18-22 years and the gradually
  decreases
• Numbers have stayed relatively steady over the
  past years
•  There is no clear evidence that heavy drinking
  at college leads to excessive use later on
• It tends to be restricted to the weekend

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Baer (2002) highlighted four factors commonly
associated with students heavy drinking

• Family history and parents behaviour genetics,
  parents drinking and parenting skills and style
  have all been associated with young people
  drinking.
• Personality three traits have been consistently
  investigated impulsivity/disinhibition
  extraversion/socialibility and
  neuroticism/emotionality.
• Drinking motives, alcohol expectances and
  perceived norms. Drinking for emotional escape
  and relief as opposed to social purposes has been
  shown to be unhealthy. Expectations of what
  alcohol does to the self and others is also
  implicated in unhealthy drinking as are perceived
  social norms. Note it is the perception of how
  much others drink (and why) not the realities
  that is important.
• Social Affiliation this is reasoned to be the
  most important factor and refers to drinking
  activities, games and general practices.

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Weitzman et al, (2003) listed seven factors
grouped under three headings (person, social
group, environment) that predicted the up-take of
binge drinking in American colleges

• Sociodemographic Age, Sex, Ethnicity.
• Precollege and family drinking patterns.
• Students residences and affiliations.
• Normative perceptions about binge drinking.
• Exposure to education about alcohol risks.
• Access and pricing of alcohol.
• University characteristics (size, location,
  religious affiliation).

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Educators Legislators Politically Right-Win
g Left-Wing Pro-Business Anti-Business Phil
osophically Descriptive Pre/Proscriptive Indi
vidualists Collectivistic Empiricists Post
Empiricists Cautious Certain  Research Cruci
al Optional Experimental Survey Academi
c Press releases, publications policy
document Aimed at understanding Aimed at
acting
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Two reactions by educators

• 1. Reactive
• The theoretical naivity of the explanatory causal
  models proposed to explain how advertising leads
  to purchasing.
• The empirical weakness of the data they use like
  unpublished survey work asking leading questions.
• The social policy inconsistency (perhaps
  hypocracy) which shows only certain products
  targeted.
• The crypto political agenda that is found both in
  their funding and other activities.
• The impossibility of speaking on behalf of others
  when they are essentially an unelected body who
  cannot speak on behalf of a diverse group like
  consumers.

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Two reactions by educators(continued)

• Proactive
• The commissioning of disinterested research
  (endowing university chairs, planning
  conferences). However it is doubtful if there
  could ever be a definitive, "killer" study or
  series of studies that settled the argument
  either way.
• Emphasise the educative role, of advertising and
  television and that banning both infantalizes and
  restricts development.
• Demonstrating the self evident fact that
  advertising pays for programming of all sorts in
  entertainment or education.
• Showing that bans backfire and have often the
  opposite effect that they are supposed to have.
• By emphasising that banning subverts the family
  and nationalises children.

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Protectionists make various claims

• The alcohol industry "exploits" occasional
  markets like holidays and sporting occasions.
• Alcohol companies use animal characters to
  promote their products which may appeal to young
  people.
• Alcopops appeal directly to young people's
  palates as does their marketing (lettering,
  colouring, brand names).

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Protectionists make various claims(continued)

• Alcohol companies have attractive websites
  created specifically to attract young people.
• Satellite television means alcohol commercials
  can be transmitted to countries where alcohol
  advertising is prohibited.
• Alcohol firms sponsor sport, which links alcohol
  with sporting prowess, fitness, success and
  enjoyment.

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The Standard Argument

• TV Commercial ? Wants ? Child-Parent
  Conflict
• ?
• Purchase by Parents

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An Alternative Approach

• Peer Influence ? Wants ? Selective Viewing
  of Commercials
• ?
• Requests
• ?
• Parental Decision

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Another Alternative Approach

• Parental Values ? Child
• Socialisation Preferences
• Lifestyle Values ? Selecting
• Wants ? Viewing ? Purchase
• Requests
• Media Income ? Decision
• Exposure ? ? Source
• Childs Peer ?
• Group

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• PARENT Intelligence
• Personality MEDIA Exposure
• Values Attention
• Parenting style Availability
•   PURCHASE
•   PEER Life style
• GROUP Stability MONEY Availability
• Values Understanding
• Criminality Habits
•  
•   
• ADOLESCENT Intelligence
• Personality
• Values

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Parents Education

• Peer Approval

Sex
Negative Beliefs
Television Sports
Advertising Awareness
Drinking Intention
Positive Beliefs
Week-end PM Television
Knowledge of Slogans
Parents Approval
Parents Drinking
Peer Drinking
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The law in Great Britain has various curiosities

• Children over 4 must be enrolled in school.
• Boys under the age of 10 may not see a naked
  mannequin.
• Children under 14 may go into licensed bars only
  if accompanied by an adult.
• Children between 14 and 17 may enter a bar only
  to buy soft drinks.
• You have to be over 16 to buy a lottery ticket.
• Minimum age for driving a tractor is 16.

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• The evidence is quite clearly in favour of the
  educationist position.