Alcohol: what's the attraction? Young people speak out

It’s two am and a teenage girl sits slumped in a nightclub doorway. The contents of her handbag are sprawled across the pavement in front of her, the contents of her stomach about to go the same way.

Just another Saturday night out for your average British teenager? That depends who you listen to.

The truth about young people’s drinking

The Guardian and Drinkaware are on quest to find out the truth about alcohol and young people. 

We surveyed 16 to 17 year olds, parents of 10 to 17 year olds, and professionals who work with children and young people. We then held a roundtable debate for key thinkers from Government, industry, health, social marketing, and youth and parenting organisations to discuss the outcomes of the survey and the kind of drinking culture we need for a healthy future.

Next, it was time for young people to have their say. Earlier this month we invited a group of 16 and 17 year olds to take part in a roundtable debate.

Alison Benjamin, editor of the Guardian Society section and Radio 1 DJ Nihal Arthanayake chaired the discussion. They opened by asking the group what motivates them to drink.

Why do young people drink?

The group’s answers confirmed young people drink for the same reasons as their parents and other adults. “It’s the party atmosphere alcohol can bring”; “it gives you confidence to meet new people”; “it loosens your boundaries a little bit, so you feel less restricted”.

Jack, 16, challenged the idea of peer pressure – an argument regularly levelled at young people to explain their drinking:  “It’s not pressure, it’s a choice,” he said. “You see other people doing it – older brothers and sisters or friends – they’re enjoying themselves, and you think ‘yeah, I want to be like that’.

Do they listen to their parents?

The Drinkaware survey of over 500 16 and 17 year olds found more than a third would prefer to listen to their parents about drinking alcohol (other options offered included friends (22%), older siblings (3%), teachers (3%)). Key thinkers from Government, health, youth and parenting organisations, who took part in our first roundtable discussion, were surprised. They presumed young people would be reluctant to listen to parents, but agreed that observing their behaviour could be even more influential. The young people thought so too.
“When you’re 11 or 12 you have lots of curiosity,” said Peter, 16. “If you see your parents drinking, it’s something you want to try because you’ve seen them doing it.”

Tessa, 16, also thought parents’ drinking shaped their children’s. “Young people see an adult stressed at work come home and have a glass of wine, maybe a few, and they think that’s a good way to deal with it.” 

How do young people want to learn about alcohol?

At the first debate, Baroness Delyth Morgan, Lords Minister for the Department of Children, Schools and Families, stressed the importance of alcohol education in schools. She explained that from autumn 2009, the Government will be looking at revising the Personal Social and Health Education (PSHE) curriculum. With only 3% of the 16 to 17 year olds surveyed saying they wanted alcohol advice from teachers, this new curriculum faces a big challenge.

But if schools could present the information in the right way, would young people listen?

The  group told each other about different ways alcohol education had been approached at their schools – the school nurse gave them a talk, they’d been shown videos, and alcohol dependent adults had come in to share their experiences.

“What they don’t show is if it’s drunk sensibly it can be ok,” complained Jack. “They only show how bad it can be.”

Frankie, 18, felt schools tackled the subject far too late: “We didn’t get anything on alcohol until we were 16. By that time everyone had already done it.”

They suggested that their peers would be more effective in getting messages across than teachers or other school staff. They also wanted to hear first-hand experiences. “Real life case studies would be far more effective than facts and figures,” said Richard, 17. “If you can see what it actually does that would have a lot more impact.”

And the discussion returned to the role of parents. “I believe it’s the parents who have the most responsibility,” said Sam, 17. “They’re the role models. If you’ve been brought up to think alcohol is good, lessons in school that say it isn’t won’t work.”

What do they think of the Chief Medical Officer’s guidance?

Alison Benjamin told the group about the Chief Medical Officer’s advice on an alcohol free childhood – that children should not drink before they are 15, and 15 to 17 year olds should only drink when supervised by an adult. They weren’t convinced.

 “I don’t think it’s fair that you shouldn’t be able to drink at all,” said Frankie. “I think the advice should be about the way you drink. In France, people drink from a really young age but with their parents, with a meal at home. When they get older, they’re less likely to think: ‘alcohol, what a novelty’.”

James, 17, thought the advice was unrealistic. “Drinking is part of our culture. Changing rules, won’t change society.”

And as Felix put it: “Only a massive geek would take that seriously.”

Celebrating our ‘culture of drunkeness’

Just as the adult discussion group had concluded, the young people felt there is a need for a change in attitude to drinking. They raised the idea that young people are still congratulated on ‘getting hammered’ by other young people, and putting themselves at risk.

“Young people, usually boys, look at a guy that’s hammered and say ‘he’s such a legend’,” said Siobhan, 17.

Jack responded: “I think it’s our culture again, its’ a serious problem in our society that people see that as a legend. And it’s not just younger people. You get people in their 20s and 30s who go out and do the same thing and they’re still a legend to their mates.”

The role of the media

The Drinkaware public survey found that close to half of young people felt the media talked about alcohol too much. But how much responsibility should they take for shaping our drinking culture?

The chairs showed the group a series of headlines and photos from the tabloid papers, and asked if it offered a fair reflection of their experiences.

They all felt the media projected an exaggerated image. Yes, there were young people getting extremely drunk at the weekends, but those that grabbed media attention were in the minority. “It’s not 99% of young people going out and getting hammered,” said Jack. “But you only ever see that, you don’t see them having a nice drink.”

Media savvy Jack R, 17, said: “You have to think ‘what’s going to make the best headline, me walking home from a party or me passed out in a bin?”

They thought media reflections were realistic to some extent, but argued that the newspapers and TV shows also had to accept some responsibility for creating the problem.

“These images can intrigue young people.” said Henna, 17. “If you see something going on, you want to be part of it.”

The debate continues

The young people we listened to want realistic, honest advice. Some want it in school, others are happy to listen to their parents. Just like the adults, none seemed likely to change their habits without our general drinking culture, and the media that fuels it, changing first. 

View more debate and discussion from the young people’s roundtable.

View the first roundtable debate and hear what key thinkers from Government,  industry, health, social marketing and youth and parenting organisations had to say.

For more on alcohol and young people and our partnership with the Guardian, you can visit the Drinkaware pages on the Guardian's website.

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