2011 ASSAD Alcohol report - mhc.wa.gov.au · The ASSAD survey is the leading national survey on...

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Australian School Student Alcohol and Drug Survey:

Alcohol Report 2011 – Western Australian results

Surveillance Report Number 8

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© Western Australian Alcohol and Drug Authority 2012 This work is copyright. It may be reproduced in whole or in part for study or training purposes subject to an inclusion of an acknowledgement of the source and no commercial use or sale. Reproduction for purposes other than those above requires written permission of: Drug and Alcohol Office PO Box 126 Mount Lawley WA 6929 Website: www.dao.wa.gov.au The Drug and Alcohol Office is the business name of the Western Australian Alcohol and Drug Authority, which is an independent statutory authority. Its functions are set out in the Alcohol and Drug Authority Act 1974. Enquiries Enquiries regarding this publication should be directed to: Monitoring, Evaluation and Research Manager Drug and Alcohol Office Phone: (08) 9370 0348 Email: [email protected] Suggested citation: Bridle, R., Miller. J., King, T. & Christou, A. (2012). Australian School Student Alcohol and Drug Survey: Alcohol Report 2011 – Western Australian results. Drug and Alcohol Office Surveillance Report: Number 8. Perth: Drug and Alcohol Office ISSN (Print):1837-5324 ISSN (Online):1837-5332 Minor revisions are occasionally made to publications after release. The online versions available in the DAO website will always include any revisions. Acknowledgements: From the Drug and Alcohol Office, Perth Western Australia: Myra Browne, Gary Kirby, Neil Guard, Claire Hicks From The Cancer Council, Victoria: Emily Bariola, Geoff Smith, Vicki White Other Agencies: Department of Education and Training, Western Australia Savant Surveys and Strategies Catholic Education Office of Western Australia Association of Independent Schools of Western Australia The Drug and Alcohol Office thanks the principals, teachers, administration staff and students of Western Australia for their contribution in 2011.

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Table of contents

List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ 5

List of Tables ................................................................................................................................. 7

Definitions ................................................................................................................................... 9

1. Executive Summary .................................................................................................................. 10

2. Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 11

Purpose ................................................................................................................................. 11

Background ................................................................................................................................. 11

Method ................................................................................................................................. 12

3. Results ................................................................................................................................. 15

3.1 Alcohol use .......................................................................................................................... 15

Alcohol use for all students, 2011................................................................................................ 15

Alcohol use for students aged 12 to 15 years, 1993 - 2011 ........................................................ 16



3.2 Risky drinking ...................................................................................................................... 19

What is risky drinking?................................................................................................................. 19

Risky drinking for students who drank in the last week, 2011 ..................................................... 20

Risky drinking for students who drank in the last week, 1993 - 2011 .......................................... 21

Number of days on which alcohol was consumed in the last week, 2011 ................................... 22

Mean number of drinks consumed for students who drank in the last week, 2011 ..................... 23

Mean number of drinks consumed for students who drank in the last week, 1993 - 2011 .......... 24

Self-described drinking status, 2011............................................................................................ 25

Behaviour of students after drinking for those who drank in the last week, 2011........................ 26

3.3 Context of alcohol use ........................................................................................................ 27

Usual alcoholic drink for students who drank in the last week, 2011........................................... 27

Source of last alcoholic drink for students who drank in the last week, 2011.............................. 28

Place of consumption for students who drank in the last week, 2011 ......................................... 29

3.4 Attitudes and expectations towards alcohol use ............................................................. 30

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Expectations regarding alcohol consumption, 2011 ....................................................................30

Student expectations regarding alcohol consumption, 1993 - 2011 ............................................31

Perceptions of the danger in getting very drunk once or twice, 2011 ..........................................32

Perceptions of the danger in getting very drunk regularly, 2011..................................................33

Social attitudes towards alcohol use for students aged 12 to 15 years, 1996 - 2011 ..................34



Recall of classroom lessons about alcohol in 2010 .....................................................................37

4. References .................................................................................................................................38

5. Appendix .................................................................................................................................39

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List of Figures

Figure 1: Alcohol use by age, 2011................................................................................................. 15

Figure 2: Trends in alcohol use for students aged 12 to 15 years, 1993 - 2011 ............................. 16

Figure 3: Trends in alcohol use for students aged 16 to 17 years, 1993 - 2011 ............................. 17

Figure 4: Trends in alcohol use for students aged 12 to 17 years, 1993 – 2011 ............................ 18

Figure 5: Prevalence of drinking at risky levels for single occasion alcohol-related harm for

students who drank in the last week by age and gender, 2011..................................... 20

Figure 6: Trends in drinking at risky levels for single occasion alcohol-related harm for

students who drank in the last week, 1993 - 2011......................................................... 21

Figure 7: Number of days on which alcohol was used in the last week for students aged

12 to 17 years, 2011...................................................................................................... 22

Figure 8: Mean number of drinks consumed for students who drank in the last week by

age and gender, 2011.................................................................................................... 23

Figure 9: Trends in the mean number of drinks consumed for students who drank in the

last week, 1993 – 2011.................................................................................................. 24

Figure 10: Self-described drinking status by age, 2011 .................................................................. 25

Figure 11: Top 10 behaviours (in the last 12 months) after drinking by gender, for those

who drank in the last week, 2011 .................................................................................. 26

Figure 12: Top five usual alcoholic drinks for students who drank in the last week, 2011 .............. 27

Figure 13: Top five sources of last alcoholic drink for students who drank in the last week,

2011............................................................................................................................... 28

Figure 14: Top four locations of where last drink was consumed for those students who

drank in the last week, 2011 .......................................................................................... 29

Figure 15: Proportion of students with positive expectations regarding alcohol

consumption, 2011 ........................................................................................................ 30

Figure 16: Trends in positive student expectations regarding alcohol consumption, 1993 -

2011............................................................................................................................... 31

Figure 17: Proportion of students who believe getting very drunk once or twice is very

dangerous by age and gender, 2011............................................................................. 32

Figure 18: Proportion of students who believe getting very drunk regularly is very

dangerous by age and gender, 2011............................................................................. 33

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Figure 19: Proportion of students recalling at least part of a lesson about drinking alcohol

at school by age and gender, 2011................................................................................37

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List of Tables

Table 1: Key findings, 2008 vs. 2011 .............................................................................................. 10

Table 2: Number of schools and students surveyed ....................................................................... 13

Table 3: Number of students surveyed by age and gender ............................................................ 13

Table 4: Trends in social attitudes towards alcohol consumption for students aged 12

to 15 years ..................................................................................................................... 34

Table 5: Trends in social attitudes towards alcohol consumption for 16 to 17 year olds ................ 35

Table 6: Trends in social attitudes towards alcohol consumption for 12 to 17 year olds ................ 36

Table 7: Prevalence of drinking behaviour by age and gender, 2011 ............................................. 39

Table 8: Frequency of alcohol consumption for those students who drank in the last

week by age and gender, 20111 .................................................................................... 40

Table 9: Trends in the prevalence of drinking behaviour over time for students aged

12 to 15 years, 1993 - 2011........................................................................................... 41


16 to 17 years, 1993 - 2011........................................................................................... 42


12 to 17 years, 1993 - 2011........................................................................................... 43

Table 12: Self described drinking status by age and gender, 2011 ................................................ 44

Table 13: Proportion of students reporting behaviour (in the last 12 months) after

drinking by age group and gender, for those who drank in the last week,

20111 2............................................................................................................................ 45

Table 14: Usual alcoholic drink for students who drank in the last week by age and

gender, 20111 ................................................................................................................ 46

Table 15: Source of last drink for students who drank in the last week by age and

gender, 20111 2 .............................................................................................................. 47

Table 16: Relationship of the person who purchased alcohol for a school student, for

students who drank in the last week by age and gender, 20111 2.................................. 48

Table 17: Place of consumption of last drink for students who drank in the last week by

age and gender, 20111 2 ................................................................................................ 49

Table 18: Adult supervision of last drink for students who drank in the last week by age

and gender, 2011........................................................................................................... 50

Table 19: Expectations relating to alcohol consumption by age and gender, 20111 ....................... 50

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Table 20: Trends in student expectations relating to alcohol consumption 1993 - 20111................50

Table 21: Perceptions of the danger in getting very drunk once or twice by age and

gender, 2011..................................................................................................................51

Table 22: Perceptions of the danger in getting very drunk regularly by age and gender,

2011 ...............................................................................................................................51

Table 23: Trends in the prevalence of agreement with social attitudes towards alcohol

consumption for students aged 12 to 15 years, 1996 - 2011.........................................52





Table 26: Recall of classroom lessons regarding alcohol in 2010 by age and gender....................55

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Definitions

Ever (drank) Those students who have ever had even part of an alcoholic drink. Mean number This is the mean number of drinks that the student consumed over the last drinks seven days. It excludes students who reported drinking greater than twenty standard drinks on any one day. Non-drinkers Those students who have never had even a part of an alcoholic drink. Last year Those students who had an alcoholic drink in the last twelve months. Last month Those students who had an alcoholic drink in the last four weeks. Last week Those students who had an alcoholic drink in the last seven days. Students were required to place a cross next to yesterday and then write the number of drinks they had next to each day of the week. If they did not drink anything on that day, they entered a zero. Single occasion Determined according to adult 2009 NHMRC guidelines. In this report, a risky drinking student drank at risk of single occasion harm (e.g. injury) if they consumed at least 5 but no more than 20 standard drinks on any one day in the past week. Stratified random A technique that ensures a representative sample of the population is sampling interviewed. The population is divided into unique, homogenous strata (groups) and the number of individuals interviewed is proportionate to the size of the strata. For example, if 10% of the school aged population are 12 year-old males who attend Catholic schools then 10% of the sample should also be 12 year-old males who attend Catholic schools. To correct for any accidental over or under sampling the data is weighted. Weight This changes the survey results to adjust for demographic differences that

survey respondents have when compared to the entire WA school population. Age, gender and school type are taken into account.

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1. Executive Summary

Every three years, school students in Western Australia are surveyed to find out about their drug and alcohol use in the Australian School Students Alcohol and Drug (ASSAD) survey. The ASSAD survey is the leading national survey on alcohol and other drug use amongst secondary school students. In 2011, 3,771 students in years 7 to 12 from 45 government, Catholic and independent schools completed the survey. A summary of key findings are provided below: Table 1: Key findings, 2008 vs. 2011

Age

12-15 16-17 12-17

Male Female All Male Female All All

Never drank 28.2▲ 28.7▲ 28.4▲ 10.1 10.6 10.4 23.9▲

Drank last year 46.5▼ 42.0▼ 44.3▼ 80.3 79.7 ▼ 80.0 53.3▼

Drank last month 22.4▼ 20.9▼ 21.7▼ 56.3 50.6 ▼ 53.5▼ 29.7▼

Drank last week 11.1▼ 13.3▼ 12.2 ▼ 36.4 30.7 33.5 17.5▼

Of those who drank last week Drank at single occ. risk 29.3 25.5 27.3 51.3 39.7 45.9 36.2

Mean number of drinks 6.5▲ 5.8▲ 6.2▲ 8.2 5.5 6.9▼ 6.5 ▲ Significantly higher than 2008 at p<0.05. ▼ Significantly lower than 2008 at p<0.05.

Rates of alcohol use declining

• Rates of alcohol use peaked in 1999 and have been decreasing since then. • This difference between 1999 and 2011 is statistically significant across use in the last

week (36.1% vs. 17.5%), last month (50.7% vs. 29.7%), and last year (74.3% vs. 53.3%) and ever used (90.1% vs. 76.1%).

• In 2011, almost 1 in 4 (23.9%) students had never consumed alcohol. This is a significant increase from 1 in 10 students in 1993 (10.3%) and 1 in 6 students in 2008 (15.9%).

Risky drinking increases for those that drank in the last week

• Based on adult guidelines, of those students who drank in the last week (17.5%), more than one-third (36.2%) drank at risky levels for single occasion alcohol-related harm. Just over two-fifths of males (40.6%) and almost one-third of females (31.8%) drank at risk.

• There has been a statistically significant increase in the proportion of students drinking at risky levels from 1993 (20.9%) to 2011 (36.2%).

Spirits preferred and parents/friends a common source1

• Most students prefer spirits (39.9%) and premixed spirits (39.6%), followed by beer (20.8%), wine (13.5%) and liqueurs (9.0%).

• Parents (28.2%) and friends (26.4%) were the most likely source of a student’s last drink. Almost one-quarter (23.1%) had someone buy their last drink for them.

• Most students drank their last drink either at a party (33.2%) or in their own home (31.0%). Attitudes towards drinking vary by age and are mixed

• Almost four-fifths of 16 to 17 year-old students (78.8%) but just under half of 12 to 15 year-old students (47.6%) expect a positive experience after consuming alcohol.

1 For those students who drank in the last week. Multiple responses could be provided.

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2. Introduction

Purpose

The objectives of the ASSAD survey are to:

• provide data on the level, patterns and trends in the use of tobacco, alcohol and other drugs among secondary school students;

• identify groups with a high risk for drug misuse; and • measure awareness and knowledge of licit and illicit drugs.

The purpose of this report is to provide analysis of Western Australia data. Raw data used in this report are also available for research. Contact details for accessing data are provided on the inside cover of this report.

Background

Why is this survey important? Each year, alcohol use is responsible for around 450 deaths in Western Australia1. In 2010, Western Australian residents were hospitalised 15,775 times for conditions related to alcohol, costing approximately $100 million2. In 2006, alcohol was estimated to be responsible for 3.85% of the total attributable burden of disease3. The main reasons for alcohol-related hospitalisations were alcoholism, alcohol-related diseases, falls and assaults. For young people under the age of 18 the use of alcohol is particularly harmful, because alcohol is typically consumed at risky levels. Consumption of alcohol may also increase the likelihood of other risky behaviours such as drink driving, physical violence, unsafe sex and mental health issues. Between 2007 and 2011, 2,484 Western Australian 12 to 17 year-olds were admitted to hospital for alcohol-related reasons and 6,485 bed days were utilised. For the same period, there were 25 alcohol-related deaths. Recent research has indicated that during adolescence, the brain undergoes a unique period of development and that drinking during this period may be associated with a range of harmful effects4. Some areas of the brain, such as the pre-frontal cortex, do not fully mature until the age of 21 in females and 28 in males. Damage to the brain, because of drinking, can affect the ability to remember information and pay attention as well as negatively affecting personality and behaviour. Teenage drinking can also result in poor school performance, an increased risk of social problems, suicidal thoughts and violence 5 - 7. This is why the 2009 NHMRC guidelines state, that for children and young people under the age of 18 years, not drinking alcohol is the safest option. The guidelines also state that children under 15 years of age are at the greatest risk of harm and that not drinking is especially important. For young people aged 15 to 17 years, the safest option is to delay the initiation of drinking for as long as possible. The availability of accurate information on the prevalence of alcohol use by young people is essential to plan and implement appropriate policies, interventions and campaigns. This information identifies the groups of young people these campaigns and interventions need to reach to be effective. The ASSAD survey is the leading national survey on alcohol and other drug use amongst secondary school students. This information is an important part of preventing and reducing adverse impacts of alcohol and other drugs in the Western Australian secondary school-aged population.

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How are the results used in Western Australia? The Drug and Alcohol Office (DAO) analyses and communicates information from the ASSAD survey to help provide an evidence-base for strategic directions across a variety of agencies, as well as increase knowledge in the general community. DAO is the lead State Government agency for drug and alcohol strategy, policy and service provision in Western Australia. The Western Australian ASSAD survey results help inform strategy development and monitor progress against particular plans and frameworks, such as:

• The Drug and Alcohol Interagency Strategic Framework for Western Australia 2011-2015. This encompasses alcohol, illicit and licit drugs (that are illegally supplied or inappropriately used). The framework provides a guide for government and non-government sector strategy, development and implementation of alcohol and other drug best practice.

• The Western Australian Health Promotion Strategic Framework 2012-2016. The WA HPSF addresses health promotion and illness prevention, by encouraging individuals to make healthy choices to maximise their health and wellbeing. The focus of the WA HPSF is on overweight and obesity, nutrition, physical activity, smoking, alcohol use and injury prevention.

Method

How is the ASSAD survey conducted? The ASSAD survey is coordinated nationally by the Centre for Behavioural Research in Cancer of The Cancer Council Victoria. The Drug and Alcohol Office and Tobacco Policy, Chronic Disease Prevention, Department of Health coordinate the Western Australian component. This report provides alcohol related results from the Western Australian component of the 2011 survey. The 2011 ASSAD survey was the tenth in a series on alcohol and other drug use behaviours among Australian secondary school students. The survey was first administered in 1984 and has been repeated at three-yearly intervals. Drug-use questions, other than tobacco and alcohol, were first included in the 1996 survey to provide prevalence estimates of licit and illicit drug usage. Sampling The target population for the survey was all students enrolled in school years 7 to 12 in government, Catholic and independent schools in Western Australia. Within each of the government, Catholic and independent school systems, each student in each year level had the same chance of being surveyed. Secondary schools were selected through stratified random sampling from the total Western Australian school population. Principals of these schools were contacted inviting them to participate, and if they agreed, they were sent a confirmation letter and information sheet. The 2011 survey adopted an intact class-sampling framework, meaning that whole classes, rather than individual students were randomly selected for participation. This approach was used to substantially reduce disruption to teachers and students by allowing the survey to be scheduled with specific classes at times that were more appropriate. In 2008, the intact class-sampling framework was used in some schools and a random selection of students (from each year level) was used in others. Letters were sent to parents of the selected students (in addition to information being sent home with the student) informing them of the survey, and means by which they could opt out their child.

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Participation was voluntary and confidential. In 2011, each student was required to provide signed consent indicating that they wished to participate before commencing the survey (this was not a requirement in the 2008 survey). Students were asked to place their unnamed questionnaire in a sealed envelope before handing it back to the external research staff. Sample characteristics In 2011, 110 secondary schools were approached to take part in the survey. Of these, 65 schools declined to participate and 45 schools agreed to participate (Table 2). This resulted in a response rate of 41.0%, the same as that achieved in 2008. From these schools, 3,799 students completed the questionnaires. Of these, 3,771 provided valid responses for age and gender (an increase of 1,052 students from 2008) and were included in the final sample. Table 2: Number of schools and students surveyed

Lower schools (Years 7-10)

Upper schools (Years 11-12)

Total

Number of schools

Number of students

Number of schools

Number of students

Number of schools

Number of students

Government 19 1,579 7 419 26 1,998

Catholic 7 602 3 293 10 895

Independent 4 466 5 408 9 874

Total 30 2,647 15 1,120 45 3,767a a Note: four students had missing year level information and are not included in this table; this table includes the final

sample and therefore excludes students who gave an invalid response for age and/or gender.

The number of students by age group and gender is shown in Table 3. Table 3: Number of students surveyed by age and gender Age Male Female All Persons

12 123 75 198 13 390 266 656 14 591 411 1,002 15 502 404 906 16 415 422 837 17 88 84 172 Total 2,109 1,662 3,771 Note: this table includes the four students from Table 2 who had missing year

level information.

Weighting The report presents estimates derived from the survey responses weighted to the appropriate Western Australian population group by age, gender and school type. This helps to address any over or under sampling with respect to age, gender and school type. Interpreting results Changes in the prevalence of alcohol use and attitudes between survey years were assessed through logistic regression analyses. Age, gender (where applicable) and school type were included as covariates to control for their effects. Probability levels below 0.05 are significant. Where the sample size is less than 40, the associated proportions are presented in italics. These results should be interpreted with caution. If the sample size is less than 10 then the sample size is

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represented as <10. This is a standard approach to ensure that individual students or schools cannot be identified. Please note that due to rounding, the totals of some tables may not add to 100% and they may equal 99.9 or 100.1. In other tables, where multiple responses are allowed totals will exceed 100% by more than 0.1%. Presentation Throughout the report, graphs illustrate key differences and trends. Tables containing the raw data are available in the appendix to enable further analysis. Some limitations of self-reported survey data There are some limitations of self-reported data due to a range of ‘non-sampling’ errors occasionally made when recording responses. For example, failure of respondents’ memories, incorrect completion of the survey form, the unwillingness of respondents to reveal their true responses and the higher levels of non-response from certain subgroups of the population. Although most of the drug terms would have been relatively familiar to most respondents, it is likely that in some cases answers were given to the wrong drug. For example, if the respondent was unable to identify the drug used, or the respondent was deceived by a drug supplier. Ecstasy and related drugs are particularly susceptible to this. Results should be interpreted with an understanding of the limitations of self-reported data that cannot be empirically verified by blood tests or other screening measures.

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3. Results

3.1 Alcohol use

Alcohol use for all students, 2011

Have you ever had even part of an alcoholic drink? Yes No Have you drank in the last twelve months? Yes No Have you drank in the last four weeks? Yes No Have you drank in the last seven days? Yes No

Refer to Table 7 in Appendix

What proportion of students consumed alcohol?

• For all students (aged 12 to 17 years), 53.3% drank in the last year, 29.7% drank in the last month and 17.5% drank in the last week. Just under one-quarter (23.9%) have never had even part of an alcoholic drink (non-drinkers).

How did consumption change with age?

• A greater proportion of younger students have never tried alcohol compared to older students (41.8% of 12 year-olds compared to just 5.7% of 17 year-olds).

• Alcohol use increases with age (4.0% of 12 year-olds drank in the last week compared to 38.7% of 17 year-olds). Note, less than 10 12 year-olds reported drinking in the last week.

How do males compare to females?

• Males typically consume alcohol more frequently than females across all ages. • For 12 to 17 year-old males, 23.7% reported never having even part of an alcoholic drink,

54.8% drank in the last year, 30.8% drank last month and 17.3% drank last week. • For 12 to 17 year-old females, 24.1% reported never having even part of an alcoholic drink,

51.7% drank in the last year, 28.5% drank last month and 17.8% drank last week.

Figure 1: Alcohol use by age, 2011

Survey questions for this page: 22, 23, 24 and 25.

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

12 13 14 15 16 17 All Students

Age (years)

Ever Last year Last month Last week

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Alcohol use for students aged 12 to 15 years, 1993 - 2011



What proportion of 12 to 15 year-old students consumed alcohol?

• Less than half (44.3%) drank in the last year, 21.7% drank in the last month and 12.2% drank

in the last week. Just over one-quarter (28.4%) were non-drinkers. How did this compare to 2008?

• The proportion of students who reported drinking in the past year, past month and past week were all significantly lower in 2011 compared to 2008.

• There were more non-drinkers in 2011 (28.4%) compared to 2008 (18.2%). What is the overall trend?

• The 2011 results continue the general downward trend that started after the 1999 survey and the proportion of students drinking at each frequency is at its lowest level since 1999.

Figure 2: Trends in alcohol use for students aged 12 to 15 years, 1993 - 2011


0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

1993 1996 1999 2002 2005 2008 2011

Year


17




What proportion of 16 to 17 year-old students drank?

• Four-fifths (80.0%) drank in the last year, 53.5% drank in the last month and 33.5% drank in the last week. One in ten (10.4%) were non-drinkers.

How did this compare to 2008?

• The proportion of students who reported drinking in the past month is significantly lower in 2011 compared to 2008 (61.5%).

• There was no significant difference in the proportion of students who reported drinking in the past year and past week for 2011 compared to 2008 (83.4% and 34.4%, respectively).

• The proportion of non-drinkers in 2011 (10.4%) is not significantly different from that reported in 2008 (8.5%).

What is the overall trend?

• Although alcohol use has fluctuated since 1993, a downward trend for each frequency is evident from 2005.

• The proportion of students drinking at each frequency is at its lowest level since 1993. Figure 3: Trends in alcohol use for students aged 16 to 17 years, 1993 - 2011


0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

1993 1996 1999 2002 2005 2008 2011

Year


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What proportion of 12 to 17 year-old students drank?

• More than half (53.3%) drank in the last year, 29.7% drank in the last month and 17.5% drank in the last week. Almost one-quarter (23.9%) reported never having consumed alcohol.


• The proportion of students who reported drinking in the past year, past month and past week are all significantly lower in 2011 compared to 2008.

• The proportion of non-drinkers is significantly higher in 2011 (23.9%) compared to 2008 (15.9%).


• There is a general downward trend since 1999. The proportion of students drinking at each frequency is significantly lower than any other year since the peak in 1999.

• This pattern is evident for both males and females: − Non-drinking by males in 2011 (23.7%) has almost tripled since 1993 (8.6%) and

doubled for females (12.0% in 1993 vs. 24.1% in 2011). − Those who drank in the past week in 2011 has reduced by almost half for males

since 1993 (33.5% to 17.3%, respectively), and one-third for females (26.6% to 17.8%, respectively).

Figure 4: Trends in alcohol use for students aged 12 to 17 years, 1993 – 2011


0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

1993 1996 1999 2002 2005 2008 2011

Year


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3.2 Risky drinking

What is risky drinking?

New guidelines In March 2009, the National Health and Medical Research Council released new guidelines about alcohol consumption and health risks. The updated guidelines simplified the definitions of risk, suggested lower consumption levels and no longer differentiated between genders. For children and young people under 18 the safest option is not drinking. Children under 15 years are at the greatest risk of harm from drinking, and for this age group, not drinking is especially important. For young people aged 15 to 17 years, the safest option is to delay the initiation of drinking for as long as possible.

For adults, drinking at risk of single occasion harm (e.g. injury) is defined as having more than four standard drinks on any one day. In this report, risky drinking is defined using this guideline.

Risky drinking from previous surveys has been recalculated against the 2009 guidelines. Further information is available at www.nhmrc.gov.au/guidelines.

Risky Drinking Definition “At least 5 but no more than 20 standard drinks, on any day, for those students that drank in the last week” For young people, risky drinking most commonly happens as excessive consumption on a single occasion. To ensure accurate information on this type of drinking, only those students who had consumed alcohol in the last week were asked about quantity consumed. Questions on amount consumed over longer periods (i.e. month, year and ever) are not included in the survey as consistent patterns of heavy drinking over long periods are not common for 12 to 17 year olds. Single occasion risk is defined using adult guidelines of more than four standard drinks, though the guidelines for young people state that not drinking is the safest option. The upper limit of 20 standard drinks was imposed in previous reports (and is consistent with the national report) as 20 drinks in one day is a large quantity to consume and students reporting more than this may have misunderstood the question or given incorrect information. Less than ten students reported drinking more than 20 standard drinks on any one day in the last week. The level of risky drinking was determined using the question below:

Q25 How many drinks did you drink in the last seven days?

___ Monday ___ Tuesday ___ Wednesday

___ Thursday ___ Friday ___ Saturday ___ Sunday

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Risky drinking for students who drank in the last week, 2011

How many drinks did you drink in the last seven days?


What proportion of students drank at risk of harm from a single drinking occasion?

• For all students who drank in the last week (17.5%), more than one-third (36.2%) drank at risk for single occasion alcohol-related harm.

Did drinking at risky levels increase with age?

• The prevalence of drinking at risky levels for single occasion alcohol-related harm increases with age.

• Of those students who drank in the last week, less than one in ten (7.8%) 12 year-olds but almost half (48.6%) of 17 year-olds did so at levels placing them at risk for single occasion harm.

• Although 7.8% of 12 year-old students who drank in the last week did so at risky levels, this is based on a sample of less than 10 students (Table 7 in Appendix).


• Just over two-fifths of males (40.6%) and almost one-third of females (31.8%) drank at risky levels for single occasion alcohol-related harm.

• This gender difference becomes more pronounced from age 15 on.

Figure 5: Prevalence of drinking at risky levels for single occasion alcohol-related harm for students who drank in the last week by age and gender, 2011

Survey questions for this page: 25.

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

12 13 14 15 16 17 All Students

Age (years)

Male Female Persons

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Risky drinking for students who drank in the last week, 1993 - 2011


Refer to Table 9, 10 & 11 in Appendix

In 2011, what proportion of students drank at risk of harm from a single drinking occasion?

• More than one-quarter (27.3%) of 12 to 15 year-olds drank at risky levels. • Almost half (45.9%) of 16 to 17 year-olds drank at risky levels. • More than one-third (36.2%) of 12 to 17 year-olds drank at risky levels.


• Analysis indicates no statistically significant differences from 2008 to 2011 in the proportion of 12 to 15, 16 to 17 or 12 to 17 year-old students who drank at levels placing them at risk of single occasion alcohol-related harm.


• For 12 to 15, 16 to 17 and 12 to 17 year-olds the proportion of students drinking at risky levels in 2011 (27.3%, 45.9% and 36.2%, respectively) is significantly higher than 1993 (13.9%, 35.2% and 20.9%, respectively).

• Although it appears that there has been a substantial increase since 2008 for both 12 to 15 and 12 to 17 year-olds, the 2011 result is consistent with the pattern of results over time (reflecting a year on year increase). The decline in 2008 appears to be inconsistent with this general upward trend.

Figure 6: Trends in drinking at risky levels for single occasion alcohol-related harm for students who drank in the last week, 1993 - 2011


0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

1993 1996 1999 2002 2005 2008 2011

Year

12 to 15 16 to 17 12 to 17

22

Number of days on which alcohol was consumed in the last week, 2011



What proportion of students drank on more than one day?

• The majority of students, who drank in the last week, drank on only one day (55.8%). • More than two-fifths (44.2%) of students who drank in the last week, drank on more than one

day, though drinking on more than two days was relatively uncommon (16.4%). Are older students more likely to drink on more than one day?

• In general, a greater proportion of older students (17 year-olds – 53.3%) compared to younger students (12 year-olds – 27.8%) drank on more than one day; however this is not stable across all ages.

Are males more likely to drink on more than one day?

• For all students (12 to 17 years-old), males (49.4%) are more likely to drink on more than one day compared to females (39.1%).

Figure 7: Number of days on which alcohol was used in the last week for students aged 12 to 17 years, 2011


0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

Number of days

23

Mean number of drinks consumed for students who drank in the last week, 2011



How much did students drink?

• For all students who drank in the last week, the mean number of standard drinks consumed was 6.5.

Did older students drink more?

• Although the mean number of drinks consumed does fluctuate (see ages 14 to 16 in Figure 8), 17 year-old students’ drink more on average (8.1) than any other age.


• For all students (aged 12 to 17 years), males drink more on average (7.2) than females (5.7). • This pattern is consistent across all ages with the exception of 12 and 13 year-old students.

Figure 8: Mean number of drinks consumed for students who drank in the last week by age and gender, 2011

Note: data is unweighted and excludes students who reported drinking more than 20 standard drinks on any one day in the last week.


0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

12 13 14 15 16 17 All Students

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24

Mean number of drinks consumed for students who drank in the last week, 1993 - 2011


Refer to Table 9, 10 & 11 in Appendix

In 2011, how much did students drink?

• On average, 12 to 15 year-olds drank 6.2 standard drinks. • On average, 16 to 17 year-olds drank 6.9 standard drinks. • On average, 12 to 17 year-olds drank 6.5 standard drinks.

How does this compare to 2008?

• On average, 12 to 15 year-old students drank significantly more compared to 2008 (4.7 standard drinks).

• In contrast, 16 to 17 year-old students drank significantly less compared to 2008 (8.8 standard drinks).

• For 12 to 17 year-old students there was no significant change from 2008 (6.4 standard drinks).


• Prior to 2011, older students consumed substantially more drinks than younger students did, but this gap has narrowed substantially in 2011. This is due to the combined effect of a decline in the average number of standard drinks that 16 to 17 year olds consume, as well as the increase in the average number of standard drinks consumed by 12 to 15 year olds.

Figure 9: Trends in the mean number of drinks consumed for students who drank in the last week, 1993 – 2011


0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

1993 1996 1999 2002 2005 2008 2011

Year

12 to 15 16 to 17 12 to 17

25

Self-described drinking status, 2011

At the present time do you consider yourself: A non-drinker? An occasional drinker? A light drinker? A party drinker? A heavy drinker?


How did students describe their drinking behaviour?

• The majority of 12 to 17 year-olds classify themselves as ‘non-drinkers’ (64.0%), followed by ‘occasional drinkers’ (17.8%) and ‘party drinkers’ (13.1%).

• Heavy drinker was relatively uncommon across all ages. What age differences were there?

• More than four-fifths of 12 and 13 year-olds describe themselves as ‘non-drinkers’ and this proportion steadily declines with increasing age.

• At age 17 ‘non-drinker’ (26.5%) is no longer the most frequent self-description. There is a shift to ‘party drinker’ (37.0%) and ‘occasional drinker’ (31.7%). Amongst 17 year-old males and females, 39.6% and 34.5% respectively classify themselves as ‘party drinkers’.

Figure 10: Self-described drinking status by age, 2011


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30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

12 13 14 15 16 17 All Students

Age (years)

Non-drinker Occasional drinker Light drinker Party drinker Heavy drinker

26

Behaviour of students after drinking for those who drank in the last week, 2011

Students were asked whether, in the last 12 months, after drinking they had engaged in any of the following behaviours.


What are the most common behaviours after drinking?

• Of those students who drank in the last week, five in ten (50.0%) 16 to 17 year olds and three in ten (30.1%) 12 to 15 year olds reported being sick/vomiting after drinking in the last 12 months.

• More than one-quarter of students reported having an argument and one-fifth attended work or school after drinking.

Did behaviour vary by age?

• Older students are typically more likely to engage in many of the behaviours shown below. For example, the proportion of 16 to 17 year-olds who were sick/vomited (50.0%) or tried any drugs (26.6%) is substantially higher compared to 12 to 15 year olds (30.1% and 15.8%, respectively).

Did behaviour vary by gender?

• Of students (aged 12 to 17 years) who drank in the last week, males were typically more likely to engage in most of the behaviours shown.

• This difference is most pronounced for aggressive behaviour such as physically threatening someone (11.8% vs. 4.8%), hitting someone or having a fight (16.9% vs. 9.0%), or causing damage to property (19.5% vs. 9.2%).

Figure 11: Top 10 behaviours (in the last 12 months) after drinking by gender, for those who drank in the last week, 2011


0%

5%

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25%

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35%

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45%

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55%

Been

sick/vomited

Had an

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Attended

work or

school

Tried any

drugs

Verbally

abused

someone

Created a

public

disturbance

or nuisance

Caused

damage to

property

Hit someone

or had a

fight

Been in

trouble with

the police

Stolen

something

Behaviour

12 to 15 16 to 17 12 to 17

27

3.3 Context of alcohol use

Usual alcoholic drink for students who drank in the last week, 2011

What alcoholic drink do you usually have?


What is the most usual alcoholic drink?

• Spirits (39.9%) and premixed spirits (39.6%) accounted for the majority of students (aged 12 to 17 years) choice of usual alcoholic drink, followed by ordinary beer (20.8%); wine (13.5%) and liqueurs (9.0%) followed these.

Did the most usual alcoholic drink change with age?

• Spirits and premixed spirits are the top two usual drinks for each age group, though there is a shift from spirits to premixed spirits from age 14 to 16.


• Spirits and premixed spirits are the most usual drink for female students across each age group.

• For males aged 12 to 17 years, spirits (36.6%) and premixed spirits (32.4%) are the most usual drink choices, though ordinary beer (30.7%) is common. As age increases so too does the proportion of male students selecting ordinary beer as their usual drink.

Figure 12: Top five usual alcoholic drinks for students who drank in the last week, 2011


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30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

12 13 14 15 16 17 All Students

Age (years)

Spirits Premixed spirits Ordinary beer Wine Liqueurs

28

Source of last alcoholic drink for students who drank in the last week, 2011

Where, or from whom, did you get your last alcoholic drink?

If someone bought your last alcoholic drink for you, what was their relationship to you?

Refer to Table 15 and 16 in Appendix

Where do students typically get their alcoholic drinks?

• For all students (aged 12 to 17 years), the source of their last alcoholic drink was most commonly their parents (28.2%), followed by their friends (26.4%) then someone else who bought it for them (23.1%).

• This pattern was the same for males and females.

Does the source of last alcoholic drink change with age?

• Younger students are more likely to get their last drink from their parents. Four-fifths (80.0%) of 12 year-olds and more than two-fifths (43.5%) of 13 year-olds, but only one-fifth (18.4%) of 17 year-olds, got their last drink from their parents. However, less than ten 12 year-olds, and 66 13 year-olds, drank in the last week.

• As age increases students are more likely to get someone to buy alcohol for them (no 12 year-olds reported this compared to 29.2% of 17 year-olds).

• Less than one in twenty students under the age of 16 reported getting their last drink from a licensed liquor store whereas almost one in ten (8.8%) of 17 year-olds did.

If someone bought their last drink for them, what was their relationship to them?

• Of those students who drank in the last week, more than two-thirds (68.2%) of all students stated that a friend who is over 18 bought their last alcoholic drink for them, followed by a sibling who was over 18 (14.1%), then a friend who was not yet 18 (11.1%). This pattern was consistent for males and females and relatively stable across ages.

Figure 13: Top five sources of last alcoholic drink for students who drank in the last week, 2011

Survey questions for this page: 27a & 27b.

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50%

60%

70%

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12 13 14 15 16 17 All Students

Age (years)

Parents Friends Someone bought it for me Sibling Home without permission

29

Place of consumption for students who drank in the last week, 2011

Where did you drink your last alcoholic drink?

Was an adult supervising you and / or your friends when Yes No you had this drink?

Refer to Table 17 and 18 in Appendix

Where did students drink their last alcoholic drink?

• For all students who drank in the last week, a party was the most common place of last drink (33.2%) followed by their own home (31.0%) or a friend’s home (21.6%).

Did place of consumption vary by age or gender?

• Male students were more likely have consumed their last drink at a party (37.2%) compared to females (29.1%). Females were more likely to select their own home (37.1%) compared to males (24.9%).

• In general, drinking at parties is more common for older students (14 years plus) than younger students, who drink in the home.

Did an adult supervise their last drink?

• Of students who drank in the last week almost two-thirds (62.3%) said that their last drink was supervised. In general, supervision declines with increasing age, though supervision for 17 year-olds is higher than that for 15 and 16 year-olds.

• The proportion of students whose last drink was supervised is generally higher amongst females than males (but it does fluctuate).

• When an adult supervised their last drink, almost one-third (32.1%) of students drank at risk. This increases to more than two-fifths (43.4%) when their last drink was unsupervised.

Figure 14: Top four locations of where last drink was consumed for those students who drank in the last week, 2011

Survey questions for this page: 28a & 28b.

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50%

60%

70%

80%

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12 13 14 15 16 17 All Students

Age (years)

At a party At my home At my friends home At a beach, park or recreation area

30

3.4 Attitudes and expectations towards alcohol use

Expectations regarding alcohol consumption, 2011

Really good What type of experience do you think you would usually Good

have if you took alcohol? Bad Really bad


What were student expectations regarding alcohol consumption?

• More than half of all students have a positive expectation concerning alcohol consumption (55.7%).

Did expectations of alcohol consumption vary by age?

• As age increases so too did positive expectations concerning alcohol consumption. • Almost one-quarter (23.8%) of 12 year-olds have a positive expectation concerning alcohol

consumption and this increases to 82.6% amongst 17 year-old students. Did expectations of alcohol consumption vary by gender?

• Although males demonstrate higher positive expectations, it is typically only 2 to 3 percent (except for 17 year-olds where the difference is 7 percent).

Figure 15: Proportion of students with positive expectations regarding alcohol consumption, 2011


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12 13 14 15 16 17 All

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Student expectations regarding alcohol consumption, 1993 - 2011

Really good What type of experience do you think you would usually Good

have if you took alcohol? Bad Really bad


In 2011, what were student expectations regarding alcohol consumption?

• For students aged 12 to 15 years, 47.6% have positive expectations regarding alcohol consumption. The proportion of males (48.6%) and females (46.6%) with positive expectations were relatively similar.



What was the overall trend?

• For 12 to 15 year-old students there has been a general pattern of decline from 2005 (57.9%) to 2011 (47.6%).

• For 16 to 17 year-old students positive expectations have fluctuated somewhat but generally remained stable from 2008 (79.1%) to 2011 (78.8%).

• The trend for the 12 to 17 year-old students mirrors that of the 12 to 15 year-olds. The difference between 2005 (64.9%) and 2011 (55.7%) was 9.2%.

Figure 16: Trends in positive student expectations regarding alcohol consumption, 1993 - 2011


0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

1996 1999 2002 2005 2008 2011

Year

12 to 15 16 to 17 12 to 17

32

Perceptions of the danger in getting very drunk once or twice, 2011

Not dangerous How much danger would you see for yourself in getting A little dangerous

very drunk on alcohol once or twice? Very dangerous Don’t know


What were student perceptions of the dangers of getting very drunk once or twice?

• Almost half of all students perceive that it is very dangerous to get very drunk once or twice (47.1%).

Did perceptions of danger vary by age?

• As age increases the proportion of students perceiving that it is very dangerous to get very drunk once or twice declines, while the perception that it is a little dangerous increases.

Did perceptions of danger vary by gender?

• The perception of getting very drunk as very dangerous for males steadily declines with increasing age (69.8% for 12 year-olds and 23.8% for 17 year-olds).

• This pattern is also evident for females (70.2% for 12 year-olds and 27.3% for 17 year-olds).

Figure 17: Proportion of students who believe getting very drunk once or twice is very dangerous by age and gender, 2011


0%

10%

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30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

12 13 14 15 16 17 All Students

Age (years)

Male Female Persons

33

Perceptions of the danger in getting very drunk regularly, 2011

Not dangerous How much danger would you see for yourself in getting A little dangerous

very drunk on alcohol regularly? Very dangerous Don’t know


What were student perceptions of the dangers of getting very drunk regularly?

• Almost seven in ten (69.6%) students perceive that it is very dangerous to get very drunk regularly.

Did perceptions of danger vary by age?

• As age increases, the proportion of students perceiving that it is very dangerous to get very drunk regularly declines, while the perception that it is a little dangerous increases.

Did perceptions of danger vary by gender?

• The perception of getting very drunk regularly as very dangerous for males steadily declines with increasing age (91.0% of 12 year-olds versus 48.4% for 17 year-olds).

• Although there is some evidence of this decline for females (79.1% of 12 year-olds versus 71.2% of 17 year-olds), the percentage of females who perceive that getting drunk regularly is very dangerous increases by 10% from age 16 to 17.

Figure 18: Proportion of students who believe getting very drunk regularly is very dangerous by age and gender, 2011


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34

Social attitudes towards alcohol use for students aged 12 to 15 years, 1996 - 2011

Students were asked whether they agreed with a number of statements to measure their attitudes towards drinking, as summarised in the table below.

Refer to Table 23 in the Appendix

What are some key changes in social attitudes over time?

• Of those students who drank in the last week, over one-third (35.7%) agreed that one of the main reasons they drink is to get drunk.

• Although the proportion of students agreeing that ‘drinking can harm your health’ has decreased by 4.8% since 2008, it remains high at 76.1%.

• Those agreeing that ‘having a drink is one of the best ways of relaxing’, ‘it is ok to get drunk occasionally so long as you don’t lose control’ and ‘occasionally getting very drunk and losing control is good fun’ have all decreased since 2008 (by 8.5%, 11.7% and 11.9%, respectively).

• The proportion of those students agreeing with the statements ‘sometimes when I have had a few drinks I feel more confident’ and ‘being able to buy alcohol easily encourages me to drink a lot’ have both increased (by 10.4% and 11.2%, respectively).

Table 4: Trends in social attitudes towards alcohol consumption for students aged 12 to 15 years

Compared to

2008a Trend (1996 -

2011)

12 to 15 year-olds % Agree Can harm your health Down Stable Best ways of relaxing Down Decreasing Best ways of getting to know people Down Decreasing Don’t drink, not really part of the group Up Stable People who drink are usually more popular Down Stable It is difficult to say no if friends offer alcohol Down Decreasing Ok to get drunk occasionally so long as you don’t lose control Down Decreasing Sometimes after a few drinks I feel more confident1 Up Fluctuates Occasionally getting drunk and losing control is good fun Down Decreasing One of the main reasons I drink is to get drunk1 Up Fluctuates Being able to buy alcohol easily encourages me to drink a lot1 Up Fluctuates a Not significance tested.

1 Filtered to those students who had drunk in the last week.


35





• The proportion of students agreeing that ‘drinking can harm your health’ has increased by 4.2% since 2008 and remains high at 84.7%.

• Compared to 2008, the proportion of agreement with all attitude statements has decreased. • Those statements showing the biggest declines were ‘having a drink is one of the best ways

of relaxing’, ‘occasionally getting very drunk and losing control is good fun’ and ‘being able to buy alcohol easily encourages me to drink a lot’ (by 6.8%, 13.3% and 7.0%, respectively).

Table 5: Trends in social attitudes towards alcohol consumption for 16 to 17 year olds

Compared to

2008a Trend (1996 -

2011)

16 to 17 year-olds % Agree Can harm your health Up Increasing Best ways of relaxing Down Decreasing Best ways of getting to know people Down Decreasing Don’t drink, not really part of the group Down Stable People who drink are usually more popular Down Stable It is difficult to say no if friends offer alcohol Down Stable Ok to get drunk occasionally so long as you don’t lose control Down Decreasing Sometimes after a few drinks I feel more confident1 Down Fluctuates Occasionally getting drunk and losing control is good fun Down Decreasing One of the main reasons I drink is to get drunk1 Down Stable Being able to buy alcohol easily encourages me to drink a lot1 Down Fluctuates a Not significance tested.



36





• Although the proportion of students agreeing that ‘getting drunk can harm your health’ has decreased by 2.4% since 2008, almost four-fifths of students still agree that drinking is harmful (78.4%).

• Compared to 2008, the proportion of agreement with most attitude statements has decreased. The exceptions are those statements only asked of students who have drank in the last week.

• Those statements showing the biggest declines were ‘occasionally getting very drunk and losing control is good fun’, ‘it is ok to get drunk occasionally so long as you don’t lose control’ and ‘having a drink is one of the best ways of relaxing’ (by 12.1%, 8.8% and 7.9%, respectively).

Table 6: Trends in social attitudes towards alcohol consumption for 12 to 17 year olds

Compared to

2008a Trend (1996 -

2011)

12 to 17 year-olds % Agree Can harm your health Down Fluctuates Best ways of relaxing Down Decreasing Best ways of getting to know people Down Decreasing Don’t drink, not really part of the group Down Stable People who drink are usually more popular Down Stable It is difficult to say no if friends offer alcohol Down Decreasing Ok to get drunk occasionally so long as you don’t lose control Down Decreasing Sometimes after a few drinks I feel more confident1 Up Fluctuates Occasionally getting drunk and losing control is good fun Down Decreasing One of the main reasons I drink is to get drunk1 Up Fluctuates Being able to buy alcohol easily encourages me to drink a lot1 Up Fluctuates a Not significance tested.



37

Recall of classroom lessons about alcohol in 2010

No, not even part of a lesson During 2010 (last year), did you have any lessons or Yes, part of a lesson

parts of lessons at school that were about Yes, one lesson drinking alcohol? Yes, more than one lesson


How many students recall at least part of a lesson about drinking alcohol?

• Four out of five (83.2%) students recall having at least part of a lesson in 2010 about alcohol. • Almost half (49.4%) of students recall having more than one lesson about alcohol.

Does recall vary by age?

• Recall of classroom lessons increases up until the age of 16 then both males and females evidence a decline of approximately 10% at age 17.

Does recall vary by gender?

• The majority of males (83.3%) and females (83.0%) recalled having at least a part of a lesson at school about drinking alcohol.

Figure 19: Proportion of students recalling at least part of a lesson about drinking alcohol at school by age and gender, 2011


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12 13 14 15 16 17 All Students

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38

4. References

1 Epidemiology Branch & Cooperative Research Centre for Spatial Information (CRC-SI). Generated using data from the WA Death Registrations which includes data from the WA Register of Births, Marriages and Deaths and Australian Bureau of Statistics. Overview of drug-related deaths due to alcohol among residents of the State identified by aetiological fractions. Accessed 24 August 2012. 2 Epidemiology Branch & Cooperative Research Centre for Spatial Information (CRC-SI). Generated using data from the WA Hospital Morbidity Data Collection. Overview of alcohol-related hospitalisations due to alcohol among residents of the State identified by aetiological fractions. Accessed 24 August 2012. 3 Hoad, V., Somerford, P., & Katzenellenbogen J., 2010. The burden of disease and injury attributed to preventable risks to health in Western Australia, 2006. Department of Health, Western Australia.

4 Squeglia L., Jacobus, J., & Tapert, S., 2009. The influence of substance use on adolescent brain development. Clinical EEG Neuroscience, 40(1), 31-38. 5 Swahn M., & Bossarte, R., 2007. Gender, early alcohol use, and suicide ideation and attempts: Findings from the 2005 Youth Risk Behavior survey. Journal of Adolescent Health, 41, 175-181. 6 Bye, E., & Rossow, I., 2010. The impact of drinking pattern on alcohol-related violence among adolescents: An international comparative analysis. Drug and Alcohol Review, 29, 131-137. 7 Miller, J., Naimi, T., Brewer, R., & Jones, S., 2007. Binge drinking and associated health risk behaviors among high school students. American Academy of Pediatrics, 119, 76-85.

39

5. Appendix

Table 7: Prevalence of drinking behaviour by age and gender, 2011 Age (years)

Drinker category 12 13 14 15 16 17 12-17

Sample size1 Male 123 390 591 502 415 88 2,109

Female 75 266 411 404 422 84 1,662

Persons 198 656 1,002 906 837 172 3,771

% Never drank Male 42.8 28.7 21.7 18.6 13.8 3.7 23.7

Female 40.7 37.4 16.9 19.5 12.2 7.7 24.1

Persons 41.8 32.9 19.3 19.0 13.0 5.7 23.9

% Drank last year

Male 25.4 42.0 56.5 63.2 75.0 89.9 54.8

Female 12.0 36.6 56.1 64.9 75.9 86.8 51.7

Persons 18.9 39.4 56.3 64.0 75.4 88.3 53.3

% Drank last month

Male 15.7 14.6 26.7 33.3 51.6 65.0 30.8

Female 6.9 17.2 24.6 35.8 50.3 51.1 28.5

Persons 11.4 15.9 25.7 34.5 50.9 58.1 29.7

% Drank last week

Male 1.9 7.6 14.8 20.6 33.3 41.8 17.3

Female 6.3 13.3 13.2 20.9 28.0 35.6 17.8

Persons 4.0 10.3 14.0 20.8 30.7 38.7 17.5

Of those who drank last week

Sample size1

Male < 10 28 87 102 138 33 394

Female < 10 38 67 86 114 37 345

Persons < 10 66 154 188 252 70 739

Mean number of drinks2 3

Male 1.5 3.1 6.8 7.6 8.0 8.8 7.2

Female 5.7 5.2 5.9 6.1 4.9 7.4 5.7

Persons 2.9 4.3 6.4 6.9 6.6 8.1 6.5

% Drank at single occasion risk3

Male 0.0 11.8 25.9 41.9 49.8 53.6 40.6

Female 10.3 17.0 24.3 36.9 37.4 43.0 31.8

Persons 7.8 15.0 25.1 39.4 44.0 48.6 36.2 1 Sample sizes may change for individual questions due to data cleaning processes.

2 Unweighted data.

3 Excludes students who reported drinking greater than 20 drinks on any one day in the past week and those with

missing data. Note: Italics used when the sample size is less than 40.

40

Table 8: Frequency of alcohol consumption for those students who drank in the last week by age and gender, 20111

Age (years)

Drinking frequency 12 13 14 15 16 17 12-17

% Males One day 50.0 57.0 50.8 55.2 51.5 41.6 50.6

Two days 50.0 20.6 29.4 22.0 33.6 44.3 31.9

Three days 0.0 18.2 11.3 12.4 10.0 9.6 11.1

Four days 0.0 4.2 2.5 5.3 2.7 0.0 2.7

Five days 0.0 0.0 2.2 1.0 0.0 2.2 1.1

Six days 0.0 0.0 1.2 3.0 0.0 2.2 1.3

Seven days 0.0 0.0 2.5 1.0 2.1 0.0 1.3

% Females

One day 79.4 54.0 51.6 60.3 70.9 52.4 60.9

Two days 10.3 24.2 27.9 25.8 18.9 31.3 24.0

Three days 0.0 2.4 6.7 11.9 7.8 11.1 7.8

Four days 10.3 10.6 6.2 1.0 0.7 2.9 4.0

Five days 0.0 2.4 1.3 0.0 1.6 0.0 1.0

Six days 0.0 2.4 4.8 0.0 0.0 2.3 1.4

Seven days 0.0 4.0 1.3 1.0 0.0 0.0 1.0

% Persons

One day 72.2 55.2 51.2 57.8 60.6 46.7 55.8

Two days 20.0 22.8 28.7 23.9 26.8 38.2 27.9

Three days 0.0 8.4 9.2 12.2 9.0 10.3 9.5

Four days 7.8 8.2 4.2 3.2 1.8 1.4 3.4

Five days 0.0 1.5 1.8 0.5 0.8 1.2 1.0

Six days 0.0 1.5 2.9 1.5 0.0 2.3 1.4

Seven days 0.0 2.5 2.0 1.0 1.1 0.0 1.1 1

Excludes students who reported drinking greater than 20 drinks on any one day in the past week and those with missing data. Note: Italics used when the sample size is less than 40.

41

Table 9: Trends in the prevalence of drinking behaviour over time for students aged 12 to 15 years, 1993 - 2011 Year of Survey

Drinker category 1993 1996 1999 2002 2005 2008 2011

% Never drank

Male 9.8▼ 10.1▼ 11.2▼ 12.5▼ 12.9▼ 14.8▼ 28.2

Female 14.1▼ 14.3▼ 12.5▼ 15.5▼ 16.3▼ 21.8▼ 28.7

Persons 11.9▼ 12.1▼ 11.9▼ 13.9▼ 14.6▼ 18.2▼ 28.4

% Drank last year

Male 70.1▲ 72.5▲ 70.1▲ 70.2▲ 60.9▲ 60.2▲ 46.5

Female 61.4▲ 67.1▲ 68.5▲ 64.7▲ 54.6▲ 55.0▲ 42.0

Persons 65.9▲ 69.9▲ 69.3▲ 67.7▲ 57.8▲ 57.7▲ 44.3

% Drank last month

Male 41.2▲ 42.4▲ 44.8▲ 45.9▲ 36.4▲ 35.0▲ 22.4

Female 34.6▲ 38.4▲ 43.5▲ 39.2▲ 32.8▲ 31.7▲ 20.9

Persons 38.0▲ 40.4▲ 44.1▲ 42.8▲ 34.6▲ 33.4▲ 21.7

% Drank last week

Male 29.2▲ 29.1▲ 30.9▲ 31.1▲ 23.8▲ 20.9▲ 11.1

Female 22.7▲ 25.5▲ 30.9▲ 26.1▲ 20.4▲ 19.3▲ 13.3

Persons 26.0▲ 27.4▲ 30.9▲ 28.8▲ 22.2▲ 20.1▲ 12.2


Mean number of drinks1 2 Male 4.5▼ 4.9▼ 5.4 5.4 5.5 5.1▼ 6.5

Female 3.5▼ 4.8 4.3▼ 4.1▼ 5.0 4.4▼ 5.8

Persons 4.1▼ 4.8▼ 4.9▼ 4.8▼ 5.3 4.7▼ 6.2


Male 15.8▼ 17.6▼ 22.5 24.0 26.2 22.8 29.3

Female 11.2▼ 17.1▼ 18.1▼ 15.8▼ 24.6 19.0 25.5

Persons 13.9▼ 17.3▼ 20.3▼ 20.5▼ 25.5 21.1 27.3 1

Unweighted data. 2

Excludes students who reported drinking greater than 20 drinks on any one day in the past week and those with missing data. ▲ Significantly higher than 2011 at p<0.05. ▼ Significantly lower than 2011 at p<0.05.

42



% Never drank

Male 4.5▼ 4.5▼ 3.0▼ 7.4 5.1▼ 8.0 10.1

Female 5.2▼ 3.2▼ 3.4▼ 5.5▼ 5.0▼ 8.9 10.6

Persons 4.8▼ 3.8▼ 3.2▼ 6.5▼ 5.1▼ 8.5 10.4

% Drank last year

Male 88.3▲ 88.1▲ 92.2▲ 86.6▲ 88.3▲ 81.0 80.3

Female 86.2▲ 91.5▲ 90.9▲ 90.3▲ 89.7▲ 85.7▲ 79.7

Persons 87.3▲ 89.8▲ 91.5▲ 88.3▲ 89.0▲ 83.4 80.0

% Drank last month

Male 66.2▲ 68.4▲ 75.5▲ 66.9▲ 73.8▲ 60.2 56.3

Female 59.7▲ 72.8▲ 70.7▲ 67.6▲ 70.3▲ 62.8▲ 50.6

Persons 63.0▲ 70.7▲ 73.0▲ 67.2▲ 72.0▲ 61.5▲ 53.5

% Drank last week

Male 48.4▲ 53.3▲ 56.5▲ 45.9▲ 52.2▲ 37.4 36.4

Female 39.3▲ 56.8▲ 50.9▲ 45.2▲ 49.0▲ 31.4 30.7

Persons 43.9▲ 55.1▲ 53.6▲ 45.6▲ 50.6▲ 34.4 33.5


Mean number of drinks1 2 Male 7.2 8.8 10.3▲ 10.0 10.0▲ 10.0 8.2

Female 5.9 6.6 6.2 6.6 5.7 7.1 5.5

Persons 6.6 7.5 8.4▲ 8.1▲ 7.5 8.8▲ 6.9


Male 37.9▼ 51.8 55.5 48.9 59.6 48.7 51.3

Female 32.0 37.5 38.6 38.9 36.4 42.1 39.7

Persons 35.2▼ 44.1 47.2 44.2 48.1 45.6 45.9 1 Unweighted data.

2 Excludes students who reported drinking greater than 20 drinks on any one day in the past week and those with

missing data. ▲ Significantly higher than 2011 at p<0.05. ▼ Significantly lower than 2011 at p<0.05.

43



% Never drank

Male 8.6▼ 8.9▼ 9.4▼ 11.2▼ 11.1▼ 13.2▼ 23.7

Female 12.0▼ 11.8▼ 10.4▼ 12.9▼ 13.6▼ 18.6▼ 24.1

Persons 10.3▼ 10.3▼ 9.9▼ 12.0▼ 12.3▼ 15.9▼ 23.9

% Drank last year

Male 74.2▲ 75.8▲ 74.9▲ 74.4▲ 67.1▲ 65.1▲ 54.8

Female 67.2▲ 72.7▲ 73.7▲ 71.5▲ 63.2▲ 62.6▲ 51.7

Persons 70.7▲ 74.2▲ 74.3▲ 73.1▲ 65.2▲ 63.9▲ 53.3

% Drank last month

Male 46.8▲ 47.8▲ 51.5▲ 51.3▲ 44.9▲ 40.9▲ 30.8

Female 40.4▲ 46.2▲ 49.9▲ 46.8▲ 42.0▲ 39.4▲ 28.5

Persons 43.7▲ 47.0▲ 50.7▲ 49.2▲ 43.5▲ 40.2▲ 29.7

% Drank last week

Male 33.5▲ 34.2▲ 36.6▲ 34.9▲ 30.3▲ 24.8▲ 17.3

Female 26.6▲ 32.7▲ 35.6▲ 31.2▲ 27.4▲ 22.3▲ 17.8

Persons 30.1▲ 33.4▲ 36.1▲ 33.2▲ 28.9▲ 23.6▲ 17.5


Mean number of drinks1 2 Male 5.6▼ 6.5 7.6 7.1 7.4 7.2

a 7.2

Female 4.6 5.6 5.1 5.2 5.4 5.4 a 5.7

Persons 5.1▼ 6.0 6.4 6.1 6.4 6.4 a 6.5


Male 22.8▼ 28.8 33.9 32.5 39.4 31.8 40.6

Female 18.5▼ 25.1 25.0 24.7 29.8 27.3 31.8

Persons 20.9▼ 27.0▼ 29.5 29.1 34.8 29.7 36.2 1

Unweighted data. 2

Excludes students who reported drinking greater than 20 drinks on any one day in the past week and those with missing data. a Mean different to 2008 ASSAD as weighted figures were presented.

▲ Significantly higher than 2011 at p<0.05. ▼ Significantly lower than 2011 at p<0.05.

44

Table 12: Self described drinking status by age and gender, 2011 Age (years)

Self description 12 13 14 15 16 17 12-17

% Males

Non 86.0 83.1 69.9 59.4 42.2 23.2 65.2

Occasional 13.1 10.8 15.0 18.7 22.5 30.5 17.0

Light 1.0 2.1 5.6 4.2 6.4 4.9 3.9

Party 0.0 3.3 8.4 16.5 27.8 39.6 13.1

Heavy 0.0 0.6 1.0 1.2 1.2 1.8 0.9

% Females

Non 84.8 81.7 69.5 53.9 38.0 29.8 62.8

Occasional 6.6 10.2 17.3 21.3 31.7 32.9 18.6

Light 7.3 3.0 4.9 6.3 5.6 2.9 5.2

Party 1.4 5.1 7.9 18.2 23.9 34.5 13.2

Heavy 0.0 0.0 0.3 0.2 0.8 0.0 0.2

% Persons

Non 85.4 82.4 69.7 56.7 40.1 26.5 64.0

Occasional 10.0 10.5 16.1 20.0 27.1 31.7 17.8

Light 3.9 2.5 5.3 5.2 6.0 3.9 4.5

Party 0.6 4.2 8.2 17.3 25.8 37.0 13.1

Heavy 0.0 0.3 0.7 0.7 1.0 0.9 0.6

45

Table 13: Proportion of students reporting behaviour (in the last 12 months) after drinking by age group and gender, for those who drank in the last week, 20111 2

Age (years)

Behaviour 12-15 16-17 12-17

% Males

Been sick - vomited 32.8 48.1 40.8

Had an argument 29.6 21.7 25.5

Attended work or school 23.5 15.8 19.5

Tried any drugs 17.0 32.3 25.0

Verbally abused someone 20.7 22.6 21.7

Created a public disturbance or nuisance 17.0 26.8 22.2

Caused damage to property 21.1 18.1 19.5

Hit someone or had a fight 18.5 15.4 16.9

Been in trouble with the police 9.8 10.1 9.9

Stolen something 13.9 9.4 11.5

Missed school 9.3 7.1 8.1

Physically threatened someone 12.3 11.3 11.8

Driven a motor vehicle 10.2 8.0 9.0

Been taken home by police 7.7 5.6 6.6

Had an injury that needed to be seen by a Doctor 4.4 1.9 3.0

% Females Been sick - vomited 27.9 52.3 38.7














Had an injury that needed to be seen by a Doctor 3.9 4.2 4.0

% Persons Been sick - vomited 30.1 50.0 39.8














Had an injury that needed to be seen by a Doctor 4.1 2.9 3.5 1

Multiple responses allowed. 2 Top 15 responses for all students aged 12 to 17 years.

46

Table 14: Usual alcoholic drink for students who drank in the last week by age and gender, 20111 Age (years)

Drink type 12 13 14 15 16 17 12-17

% Males

Spirits 24.3 25.6 35.9 39.8 34.5 42.5 36.6 Premixed spirits 24.3 33.3 47.4 38.2 33.9 13.4 32.4 Ordinary beer 50.0 20.6 24.8 30.9 32.2 34.5 30.7 Wine 12.8 16.1 17.0 10.7 14.7 11.3 13.5 Liqueurs 0.0 8.2 8.4 11.2 5.3 0.0 6.0 Alcoholic sodas 0.0 7.0 9.4 11.3 2.7 2.2 5.8 Alcoholic cider 0.0 3.7 9.3 9.4 11.5 0.0 7.4 Champagne or sparkling wine 0.0 8.2 6.9 5.3 2.6 0.0 3.7 Low alcohol beer 12.8 16.5 3.6 5.0 4.2 4.7 5.5 Wine cooler 0.0 4.5 3.4 1.0 2.1 0.0 1.8 Mixers 0.0 0.0 2.4 1.0 0.0 0.0 0.6 Other specified 0.0 0.0 1.4 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.2 Cocktail/Punch 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.9 0.0 0.0 0.2 Port/Sherry/Stones 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Other unspecified 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Homemade 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

% Females

Spirits 89.7 46.8 46.7 37.1 27.6 49.5 43.2 Premixed spirits 20.6 30.8 54.7 51.9 52.1 49.9 46.8 Ordinary beer 10.3 30.0 8.1 7.3 8.9 5.9 11.0 Wine 10.3 17.0 13.1 20.1 10.3 8.8 13.4 Liqueurs 0.0 15.4 24.7 7.7 6.1 16.9 11.9 Alcoholic sodas 0.0 4.8 6.7 12.8 5.1 13.4 8.0 Alcoholic cider 0.0 2.4 5.4 4.6 5.9 8.1 5.1 Champagne or sparkling wine 0.0 17.0 6.7 5.2 3.7 2.9 5.9 Low alcohol beer 0.0 13.6 4.0 0.0 3.3 0.0 3.3 Wine cooler 0.0 0.0 1.3 2.1 0.4 0.0 0.7 Mixers 0.0 0.0 1.3 0.0 1.7 0.0 0.6 Other specified 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Cocktail/Punch 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Port/Sherry/Stones 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Other unspecified 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Homemade 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

% Persons

Spirits 73.8 39.2 40.9 38.4 31.3 45.8 39.9 Premixed spirits 21.5 31.7 50.8 44.9 42.3 30.3 39.6 Ordinary beer 20.0 26.6 17.1 19.3 21.6 21.3 20.8 Wine 10.9 16.6 15.2 15.3 12.7 10.2 13.5 Liqueurs 0.0 12.8 15.9 9.5 5.6 7.8 9.0 Alcoholic sodas 0.0 5.6 8.2 12.0 3.8 7.3 6.9 Alcoholic cider 0.0 2.9 7.5 7.0 8.9 3.8 6.2 Champagne or sparkling wine 0.0 13.8 6.8 5.3 3.1 1.4 4.8 Low alcohol beer 3.1 14.7 3.8 2.5 3.8 2.5 4.4 Wine cooler 0.0 1.6 2.5 1.5 1.3 0.0 1.3 Mixers 0.0 0.0 1.9 0.5 0.8 0.0 0.6 Other specified 0.0 0.0 0.7 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.1 Cocktail/Punch 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.5 0.0 0.0 0.1 Port/Sherry/Stones 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Other unspecified 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 Homemade 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 1

Multiple responses allowed. Note: Italics used when the sample size is less than 40.

47

Table 15: Source of last drink for students who drank in the last week by age and gender, 20111 2

Age (years)

Source 12 13 14 15 16 17 12-17

% Males

My parent(s) gave it to me 50.0 33.4 20.9 22.6 23.7 11.2 21.7

Friends gave it to me 0.0 22.6 36.9 28.6 20.9 23.2 25.3

I got someone to buy it for me 0.0 13.6 15.6 22.7 32.8 31.4 25.3

My brother or sister gave it to me 24.3 7.0 11.2 12.3 11.0 2.5 9.5

I took it from home without permission 12.8 14.4 7.1 8.1 1.5 2.2 5.3

At a drive-in bottle shop 0.0 0.0 1.2 1.0 2.6 18.2 5.1

At a licensed liquor store/supermarket 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.0 4.2 11.2 4.1

At a hotel, pub, bar, tavern, RSL Club 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.1 2.6 0.0 1.1

Party 0.0 0.0 1.1 0.9 1.5 2.2 1.3

Other relative 0.0 4.5 2.3 0.9 0.0 0.0 0.9

% Females









Party 0.0 2.5 0.0 1.0 0.0 2.9 1.1

Other relative 0.0 0.0 4.0 1.0 0.0 2.9 1.3

% Persons









Party 0.0 1.6 0.6 1.0 0.8 2.5 1.2

Other relative 0.0 1.7 3.1 1.0 0.0 1.4 1.1 1

Multiple responses allowed. 2

Sources of drinks where less than 1% of Persons aged 12-17 nominated as a source are not included in this table. Note: Italics used when the sample size is less than 40.

48

Table 16: Relationship of the person who purchased alcohol for a school student, for students who drank in the last week by age and gender, 20111 2 Age (years)

Relationship 12 13 14 15 16 17 12-17

Sample size Male n/a < 10 12 20 45 < 10 87

Female n/a < 10 < 10 21 31 10 74

Persons n/a < 10 21 41 76 17 161

% Males

Friend who is 18 or over n/a 33.3 48.4 79.7 53.8 80.5 64.7

Sibling/relative who is 18 or over n/a 33.3 26.4 4.9 27.1 0.0 15.6

Friend who is not yet aged 18 n/a 0.0 25.2 15.4 14.4 0.0 10.8

Sibling/relative who is not yet 18 n/a 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 6.5 1.9

Stranger n/a 33.3 0.0 0.0 1.5 6.5 3.9

Other specified n/a 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Other unspecified n/a 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

Other adult n/a 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.2 6.5 3.1

% Females





Stranger n/a 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 8.5 2.0



Other adult n/a 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.0

% Persons





Stranger n/a 17.1 0.0 0.0 0.9 7.3 3.1



Other adult n/a 0.0 0.0 0.0 1.8 3.9 1.7 1


Only asked of students who indicated that some one else had bought alcohol for them. Note: n/a used when the sample size is zero. Note: Italics used when the sample size is less than 40.

49

Table 17: Place of consumption of last drink for students who drank in the last week by age and gender, 20111 2

Age (years)

Place 12 13 14 15 16 17 12-17

% Males

At a party 17.0 13.6 37.6 36.5 40.4 43.0 37.2 At my home 83.0 47.5 26.8 22.0 17.6 24.2 24.9 At my friends home 0.0 17.2 20.6 20.1 23.3 28.1 22.4 At a beach, park or recreation area 0.0 3.7 9.6 7.0 8.7 4.3 7.0 At a hotel, pub, bar, tavern or RSL club 0.0 0.0 1.4 2.1 2.1 0.0 1.3 At a restaurant 0.0 0.0 1.1 2.3 2.6 2.5 2.0 At a dance venue/dance party 0.0 0.0 1.1 2.0 2.6 2.1 1.9 On school grounds during school hours 0.0 4.5 0.0 2.0 2.1 2.1 1.9

% Females

At a party 10.3 17.6 30.5 29.3 44.6 21.5 29.1 At my home 89.7 61.4 37.3 26.5 20.3 35.5 37.1 At my friends home 0.0 2.5 13.8 31.4 29.0 23.8 20.9 At a beach, park or recreation area 0.0 11.0 7.7 4.8 6.6 5.9 6.4 At a hotel, pub, bar, tavern or RSL club 0.0 2.5 3.8 1.0 2.1 2.3 2.0 At a restaurant 0.0 0.0 0.0 3.1 0.4 2.9 1.3 At a dance venue/dance party 0.0 0.0 0.0 2.7 3.3 0.0 1.4 On school grounds during school hours 0.0 0.0 6.9 0.0 0.0 0.0 0.9

% Persons At a party 11.6 16.1 34.3 33.0 42.3 33.2 33.2 At my home 88.4 56.3 31.6 24.2 18.9 29.4 31.0 At my friends home 0.0 7.9 17.5 25.6 26.0 26.2 21.6 At a beach, park or recreation area 0.0 8.3 8.7 6.0 7.7 5.0 6.7 At a hotel, pub, bar, tavern or RSL club 0.0 1.6 2.5 1.6 2.1 1.0 1.7 At a restaurant 0.0 0.0 0.6 2.7 1.6 2.7 1.7 At a dance venue/dance party 0.0 0.0 0.6 2.4 2.9 1.2 1.7 On school grounds during school hours 0.0 1.7 3.2 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.4 1


Places of consumption where less than 1% of Persons aged 12-17 nominated as a location are not included in this table. Note: Italics used when the sample size is less than 40.

50

Table 18: Adult supervision of last drink for students who drank in the last week by age and gender, 2011 Age (years)

Adult supervision 12 13 14 15 16 17 12-17

Sample size Male < 10 26 85 101 137 32 387

Female < 10 38 65 85 113 37 341

Persons < 10 64 150 186 250 69 728

% Supervised

Male 87.2 56.0 63.6 51.2 51.3 68.1 58.0

Female 100.0 75.0 70.9 59.8 58.7 64.2 66.7

Persons 96.9 68.2 66.9 55.3 54.7 66.3 62.3

% Supervised and drank at risk

Male 0.0 8.1 26.5 35.8 41.6 50.9 36.0

Female 10.3 13.0 23.6 34.2 35.6 43.7 28.9

Persons 8.0 11.5 25.1 34.9 38.6 47.6 32.1

% Unsupervised and drank at risk Male 0.0 18.6 26.4 48.7 57.6 63.4 48.2

Female 0.0 28.9 23.5 39.1 41.5 41.8 37.5

Persons 0.0 23.8 25.2 44.5 50.8 52.4 43.4 Note: Italics used when the sample size is less than 40.

Table 19: Expectations relating to alcohol consumption by age and gender, 20111

Age (years)

Expectation 12 13 14 15 16 17 12-17

% Positive Male 24.1 41.7 59.5 68.8 77.2 86.1 56.7

Female 23.4 38.5 58.3 67.2 76.2 79.1 54.7

Persons 23.8 40.1 58.9 68.0 76.7 82.6 55.7

% Negative

Male 75.9 58.3 40.5 31.2 22.8 13.9 43.3

Female 76.6 61.5 41.7 32.8 23.8 20.9 45.3

Persons 76.2 59.9 41.1 32.0 23.3 17.4 44.3 1 ‘Really good’ and ‘good’ were summed to get total positive; ‘really bad’ and ‘bad’ were summed to get total negative.

Table 20: Trends in student expectations relating to alcohol consumption 1993 - 20111

Year of Survey

Expectation 1993 1996 1999 2002 2005 2008 2011

12 to 15 year-olds % positive

Male n/a 56.9 65.4 60.7 60.5 57.2 48.6

Female n/a 51.8 61.1 54.6 55.2 52.1 46.6

Persons n/a 54.4 63.2 57.9 57.9 54.6 47.6

16 to 17 year-olds % positive Male n/a 83.1 88.1 83.5 85.5 76.1 80.4

Female n/a 81.8 87.0 84.6 88.0 82.0 77.3

Persons n/a 82.4 87.5 84.0 86.8 79.1 78.8

12 to 17 year-olds % positive Male n/a 62.5 70.6 66.7 66.2 61.8 56.7

Female n/a 58.9 67.3 62.6 63.5 59.6 54.7

Persons n/a 60.7 69.0 64.8 64.9 60.7 55.7 1 ‘Really good’ and ‘good’ were summed to get total positive.

51

Table 21: Perceptions of the danger in getting very drunk once or twice by age and gender, 2011 Age (years)

Perceived danger 12 13 14 15 16 17 12-17

% Males

Not dangerous 1.8 5.1 11.3 10.1 15.6 11.9 9.1

A little dangerous 8.3 31.1 31.5 39.6 45.2 57.6 33.8

Very dangerous 69.8 52.7 47.1 42.4 30.5 23.8 46.1

Don’t know 20.0 11.2 10.1 7.9 8.7 6.8 11.0

% Females

Not dangerous 1.4 2.1 6.0 10.2 14.0 9.3 6.8


Very dangerous 70.2 59.0 47.3 38.5 34.5 27.3 48.1

Don’t know 4.8 14.8 8.4 6.8 5.8 2.9 7.7

% Persons

Not dangerous 1.6 3.6 8.7 10.1 14.8 10.6 8.0


Very dangerous 70.0 55.8 47.2 40.5 32.6 25.5 47.1

Don’t know 12.0 12.9 9.3 7.4 7.3 4.8 9.3

Table 22: Perceptions of the danger in getting very drunk regularly by age and gender, 2011 Age (years)

Perceived danger 12 13 14 15 16 17 12-17

% Males Not dangerous 1.4 2.7 5.2 4.6 6.7 5.7 4.2


Very dangerous 91.0 72.9 67.3 61.5 53.7 48.4 67.6

Don’t know 4.6 9.3 7.2 6.2 5.7 5.7 6.6

% Females Not dangerous 2.1 1.6 2.9 5.8 6.7 5.8 3.9


Very dangerous 79.1 80.2 70.7 66.0 61.2 71.2 71.6

Don’t know 2.1 6.7 5.7 6.2 3.2 2.9 4.6

% Persons Not dangerous 1.7 2.2 4.0 5.2 6.7 5.8 4.1


Very dangerous 85.1 76.4 69.0 63.7 57.5 59.8 69.6

Don’t know 3.4 8.0 6.4 6.2 4.5 4.3 5.6

52

Table 23: Trends in the prevalence of agreement with social attitudes towards alcohol consumption for students aged 12 to 15 years, 1996 - 2011

Year of Survey

% Agree 1996 1999 2002 2005 2008 2011

Getting drunk can harm your health Male 74.4 73.2 74.6 74.7 78.7 73.1

Female 75.3 75.8 80.0 77.8 83.2 79.2

Persons 74.9 74.5 77.1 76.3 80.9 76.1

Having a drink is one of the best ways of relaxing

Male 41.0 41.5 42.8 39.7 39.9 28.4

Female 31.4 31.7 36.3 30.5 28.4 23.0

Persons 36.2 36.6 39.8 35.2 34.2 25.7

Having a few drinks is one of the best ways of getting to know people

Male 40.0 42.3 41.8 37.6 37.0 32.4

Female 27.9 28.8 28.6 26.9 23.0 24.0

Persons 34.1 35.6 35.7 32.3 30.1 28.2

If someone doesn’t have a drink then they’re not really part of the group

Male 12.5 15.8 16.1 10.4 9.4 8.1

Female 8.4 7.8 7.4 6.7 5.7 7.7

Persons 10.5 11.8 12.1 8.6 7.6 7.9

People who drink are usually more popular than people who don’t

Male 24.3 27.5 30.2 25.5 26.0 19.8

Female 21.9 26.4 27.9 21.4 20.1 24.9

Persons 23.1 27.0 29.1 23.5 23.1 22.3

It is difficult to say no to friends if they are offering me alcohol

Male 31.5 34.0 31.7 27.1 31.0 21.9

Female 26.6 27.7 26.0 23.5 21.6 20.9

Persons 29.1 30.9 29.1 25.3 26.4 21.4

It is ok to get drunk occasionally as long as you don’t lose control

Male 55.0 57.6 55.2 50.7 52.9 39.5

Female 54.0 57.4 53.9 52.3 51.1 41.2

Persons 54.5 57.5 54.6 51.5 52.0 40.3

Sometimes when I’ve had a few drinks I feel more confident1

Male 56.4 62.7 64.9 62.7 54.7 63.2

Female 63.7 65.1 61.6 73.6 62.2 73.2

Persons 59.8 63.9 63.5 67.7 58.3 68.7

Occasionally getting very drunk and losing control is good fun

Male 35.8 35.3 33.0 29.3 31.7 17.3

Female 32.9 34.3 29.8 27.0 28.1 18.7

Persons 34.4 34.8 31.5 28.1 29.9 18.0

One of the main reasons I drink is to get drunk1

Male n/a n/a 38.2 34.7 32.9 39.5

Female n/a n/a 33.7 37.7 33.8 32.6

Persons n/a n/a 36.3 36.1 33.3 35.7

Being able to buy alcohol easily encourages me to drink a lot1

Male n/a n/a 26.7 29.4 20.8 32.9

Female n/a n/a 25.0 31.4 19.1 29.9

Persons n/a n/a 26.0 30.3 20.0 31.2 1

Filtered to those students who had drunk in the last week. Note: Cells marked as n/a as the question was not asked in these years.

53


Year of Survey

% Agree 1996 1999 2002 2005 2008 2011


Female 83.0 78.1 82.0 84.7 83.8 88.3

Persons 79.5 76.1 79.9 80.5 80.5 84.7


Male 59.6 62.9 61.5 61.0 51.7 49.8

Female 56.8 47.8 54.7 50.4 48.5 37.0

Persons 58.1 55.1 58.3 55.5 50.1 43.3


Male 62.2 58.8 62.9 60.5 57.2 51.6

Female 48.9 51.8 51.6 51.3 49.2 45.8

Persons 55.3 55.2 57.5 55.8 53.1 48.7


Male 12.1 14.9 14.5 12.4 15.1 9.8

Female 7.6 6.8 9.8 8.5 6.4 6.7

Persons 9.8 10.8 12.3 10.4 10.7 8.2

People who drink are usually more popular that people who don’t

Male 26.2 32.2 35.4 28.8 32.8 28.5

Female 21.0 19.4 24.6 28.0 25.9 25.8

Persons 23.5 25.7 30.3 28.4 29.3 27.1


Male 28.4 38.6 32.4 27.7 32.3 30.1

Female 30.0 23.2 25.8 25.7 27.3 19.8

Persons 29.3 30.7 29.3 26.7 29.8 24.9


Male 71.3 77.5 74.5 70.4 65.6 65.6

Female 78.0 75.9 79.8 75.0 67.0 64.9

Persons 74.8 76.7 77.0 72.8 66.3 65.3


Male 78.1 82.6 78.9 80.8 78.2 76.9

Female 82.7 82.6 87.2 81.1 86.9 83.0

Persons 80.6 82.6 82.8 80.9 82.2 79.8


Male 55.2 60.3 54.1 52.6 51.9 39.7

Female 56.4 50.8 52.1 52.7 51.1 36.8

Persons 55.8 55.4 53.2 52.6 51.5 38.2


Male n/a n/a 52.1 46.7 42.2 45.9

Female n/a n/a 46.4 38.6 44.7 39.5

Persons n/a n/a 49.5 42.6 43.3 42.9


Male n/a n/a 28.5 25.9 31.4 25.6

Female n/a n/a 28.0 22.4 34.4 26.1

Persons n/a n/a 28.3 24.2 32.8 25.8 1


54


Year of Survey

% Agree 1996 1999 2002 2005 2008 2011


Female 77.1 76.3 80.5 79.5 83.3 81.6

Persons 75.9 74.9 77.8 77.3 80.8 78.4


Male 44.8 46.4 47.7 44.6 42.8 33.9

Female 37.2 35.5 41.2 35.4 33.5 26.7

Persons 41.0 40.9 44.7 40.0 38.2 30.3


Male 44.7 46.0 47.3 42.8 41.9 37.3

Female 32.7 34.3 34.8 32.9 29.7 29.7

Persons 38.7 40.2 41.5 37.9 35.8 33.5


Male 12.4 15.6 15.7 10.8 10.8 8.6

Female 8.2 7.6 8.0 7.1 5.9 7.5

Persons 10.3 11.6 12.1 9.0 8.4 8.0

People who drink are usually more popular that people who don’t

Male 24.7 28.6 31.6 26.3 27.7 22.0

Female 21.7 24.8 27.0 23.0 21.6 25.2

Persons 23.2 26.7 29.4 24.7 24.7 23.6


Male 30.9 35.0 31.9 27.2 31.3 24.0

Female 27.4 26.6 26.0 24.1 23.1 20.6

Persons 29.2 30.8 29.1 25.7 27.2 22.3


Male 58.4 62.1 60.3 55.2 56.0 46.2

Female 59.4 61.9 61.0 57.9 55.2 47.4

Persons 58.9 62.0 60.6 56.5 55.6 46.8


Male 63.5 69.7 69.7 69.8 63.4 70.6

Female 71.3 71.2 71.7 76.9 71.0 77.7

Persons 67.3 70.4 70.6 73.2 67.0 74.2


Male 39.8 41.0 38.5 34.6 36.6 23.0

Female 38.2 38.3 35.8 33.2 34.0 23.4

Persons 39.0 39.6 37.3 33.9 35.3 23.2


Male n/a n/a 43.0 39.4 36.3 43.0

Female n/a n/a 38.7 38.1 37.7 35.7

Persons n/a n/a 41.2 38.8 36.9 39.3


Male n/a n/a 27.3 28.0 24.8 28.9

Female n/a n/a 26.2 27.5 24.5 28.1

Persons n/a n/a 26.8 27.8 24.7 28.5 1


55

Table 26: Recall of classroom lessons regarding alcohol in 2010 by age and gender Age (years)

Classroom lessons 12 13 14 15 16 17 12-17

% Males

No 21.5 23.3 14.5 10.9 10.2 20.2 16.7

Yes (total) 78.5 76.7 85.5 89.1 89.8 79.8 83.3

Yes (part) 7.7 18.6 13.6 12.4 11.6 22.2 13.7

Yes (one lesson) 57.9 21.7 12.1 10.0 19.7 23.5 24.6

Yes (> one lesson) 12.8 36.4 59.7 66.6 58.5 34.1 45.0

% Females

No 28.3 21.8 11.7 10.6 9.9 19.7 17.0

Yes (total) 71.7 78.2 88.3 89.4 90.1 80.3 83.0

Yes (part) 13.9 11.6 15.4 8.0 11.9 18.5 12.8

Yes (one lesson) 17.0 19.5 12.8 13.0 17.8 19.2 16.3

Yes (> one lesson) 40.8 47.2 60.1 68.4 60.4 42.7 54.0

% Persons

No 24.9 22.6 13.1 10.8 10.0 19.9 16.8

Yes (total) 75.1 77.4 86.9 89.2 90.0 80.1 83.2

Yes (part) 10.8 15.2 14.5 10.3 11.7 20.4 13.2

Yes (one lesson) 37.9 20.6 12.4 11.5 18.8 21.4 20.5

Yes (> one lesson) 26.5 41.6 59.9 67.5 59.5 38.4 49.4

2011 ASSAD Alcohol report - mhc.wa.gov.au · The ASSAD survey is the leading national survey on...

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