Underage Campaign Evidence

Sources of the evidence used in the poster advertising: 

Being drunk just once aged 13. Twice as likely to have unprotected sex. (Mann et al, 2009)

• Alcohol use aged 13-14 increases the risk of unprotected sex
• Data: Those who had been drunk at least once aged 13-14 were twice as likely to report not using a condom at first sex (OR = 2.0) and to report not using contraception at first sex (OR = 2.2.) than those who had not been drunk aged 13-14. They were also 3x more likely to report having sex before 16.
• Notes: Reanalysis of a survey of 14,089 English and Scottish pupils, with follow up.
• Reference: Mann et al. (2009). Early alcohol use and sexual activity in young people: a secondary analysis of the Ripple and Share school survey data. HIV Medicine, 11 (Suppl. 1), 86. Downloaded from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1468-1293.2010.00841_2.x/pdf

Being drunk, just once, under 16 years old.  85% more likely to be involved in violence. (Bellis et al, 2009)

• A survey of 9,833 15-16 year olds in North West England in 2008.
• Increased risk of involvement in youth violence-as victims or perpetrators
• It shows that binge drinking (5+ drinks/session) even once raises risk of being involved in violence while drunk by 85%. (OR = 1.85 for those who binge drink less than once/month vs. those who never binge drink.)
• Reference: Bellis et al (2009). Teenage drinking, alcohol availability and pricing: a cross-sectional study of risk and protective factors for alcohol-related harms in school children. BMC Public Health, 9, 380. Downloaded from http://www.biomedcentral.com/1471-2458/9/380

Sources of the additional statistics used in the radio advertising: 

Being drunk, just once, under 16 years old.  58% more likely to suffer a serious injury. (Jiang et al, 2008)

• This is based on data from Canada. Based on survey of 7031 students aged 11-15 in 2001/2. Measures: Frequency of drinking (<1/week; 2-4 times/week; 5+times/week);  Ever been drunk (Never, Once, 2-3 times, 4+ times). Serious injury = injuries which led to: (1) hospital admission overnight;  or (2) missed at least 1 full day of school or usual activities; or (3) internal injury requiring operation.
• Those who had been drunk once had a 58% increased chance of serious injury; drunk 2-3 times = 47%; drunk 4+ times = 74%. (OR 1.58, 1.47, 1.74 respectively).
• Reference: Jiang et al (2008). Alcohol Consumption and Injury Among Canadian Adolescents: Variations by Urban–Rural Geographic Status. The Journal of Rural Health, 24, 143-147. Downloaded from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1748-0361.2008.00150.x/full

Children who drink at 13 are more likely to get worse grades or be expelled. (Ellickson et al, 2003; Viner and Taylor, 2007)

Underage drinking linked with increased risk of poor grades, truancy, suspension and dropping out of education (Ellickson et al, 2003).

• Longitudinal survey of US school pupils over several waves. N=6338 at grade 7 (aged 12-13, 1985); N=4265 at grade 12 (aged 17-18, 1990); and N=3369 at age 23 (aged 23, 1995). Survey measured alcohol and drug use as well as problem behaviours and school/work performance.
• Alcohol use was defined as: Non-drinkers (0 drinks in last 12 months); Experimenters (<3 drinks in last 12 months, 0 in last month); Drinkers (3+ drinks in past year or drink in past month).
• Drinkers were significantly more likely than non-drinkers to: skip school (61.7% vs 44.7%), get worse grades (31.6% vs 20.5%) be suspended (16.9% vs 8.4%) or drop out (26.7% vs 4.3%).
• Reference: Ellickson et al (2003). Ten Year Prospective Study of Public Health Problems Associated with Early Drinking. Pediatrics,111(5), 949-955. Downloaded from http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/111/5/949?ck=nck

Underage drinking linked with increased risk of expulsion (Viner and Taylor, 2007).

• Longitudinal study of UK 1970 birth cohort.
• Compares binge drinkers (2 or more episodes of drinking four or more drinks in a row in the past 2 weeks) with non-binge drinkers at age 16.
• Risk of permanent expulsion was four times higher (OR=3.9) for binge drinkers vs non-binge drinkers.
• Reference: Viner and Taylor (2007). Adult outcomes of binge drinking in adolescence: findings from a UK national birth cohort. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 61, 902–907. Downloaded from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2652971/

174 children a month are admitted to hospital for alcohol related causes.

• Reference: Health and Social Care Information Centre (2014), Statistics on Alcohol 2014. [Online]. Downloaded from http://www.hscic.gov.uk/catalogue/PUB15483