A REVIEW OF NEW ZEALAND AND OTHER INTERNATIONAL LITERATURE Alcohol and Young People A review of New Zealand and other international literature December 2017 1 HPA:729297v4 A REVIEW OF NEW ZEALAND AND OTHER INTERNATIONAL LITERATURE ALCOHOL AND YOUNG PEOPLE COPYRIGHT The copyright owner of this publication is HPA. HPA permits the reproduction of material from this publication without prior notification, provided that fair representation is made of the material and HPA is acknowledged as the source. DISCLAIMER This research has been carried out by an independent party under contract to HPA. The views, observations and analyses expressed in this report are those of the authors and are not to be attributed to HPA. The content should not be taken to imply or endorse HPA policy, strategy or health promotion activities. STATISTICS NEW ZEALAND SECURITY STATEMENT Access to the data used in this study was provided by Stats NZ (then Statistics New Zealand) in the Stats NZ Data Laboratory (Wellington), a secure environment designed to give effect to the confidentiality provisions of the Statistics Act 1975. The results in this study and any errors contained therein are those of the authors, not Stats NZ. ISBN Number: 978-1-927303-36-8 Online Citation: Carter, K., & Filoche, S., & McKenzie, S. (2017). Alcohol and young people: A review of New Zealand and other international literature. Report commissioned by the Health Promotion Agency. Wellington: Health Promotion Agency. This document is available at: http://www.hpa.org.nz/research-library/research-publications. Any queries regarding this report can be directed to HPA at the following address: Health Promotion Agency Level 16, 101 The Terrace PO Box 2142 Wellington 6140 New Zealand www.hpa.org.nz [email protected] December 2017 HPA:729297v4 A REVIEW OF NEW ZEALAND AND OTHER INTERNATIONAL LITERATURE COMMISSIONING CONTACT’S COMMENTS This Health Promotion Agency (HPA) commission was managed by Margaret Chartres (Senior Researcher) and Dr Sarah Wright (Researcher). HPA is interested in improving our understanding about how young New Zealanders drink alcohol. The intersections between demographic and health variables and the patterns of drinking by young people are of particular interest, as are the changes in how young people drink as they move from their late teens into early adulthood. In April 2012, HPA (through the agency of the then Alcohol Advisory Council of New Zealand) commissioned the Department of Public Health at the University of Otago (Wellington) to undertake research into young people’s drinking. The SoFIE-Health study was primarily funded by the Health Research Council of New Zealand as part of the Health Inequalities Research Programme. This report reviews the literature from New Zealand and from overseas, with an objective to examine the drinking behaviours of young New Zealanders aged between 12 and 24 years. Differences between male and female drinking behaviours are highlighted. A draft report was received in August 2012, and a final report in February 2013. There are two companion reports: “Alcohol and older people. A descriptive analysis of changes in alcohol use in older New Zealanders from 2004 to 2009” and “Alcohol and young people. A descriptive analysis of changes in alcohol use in young New Zealanders from 2004 to 2009.” REVIEW The report was reviewed externally. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The authors would like to thank Margaret Chartres and Dr. Sarah Wright, initially through the then Alcohol Advisory Council of New Zealand (ALAC) and subsequently through the Health Promotion Agency (HPA) for their energy and enthusiasm regarding this work. Thanks are due to the external reviewer. Feedback on a draft report was provided by Margaret Chartres, Dr. Sarah Wright and Rosie Pears, of HPA. 1 ALCOHOL AND YOUNG PEOPLE CONTENTS Commissioning contact’s comments ........................................................................................................1 Executive summary .....................................................................................................................................3 Introduction ..................................................................................................................................................6 Methodology ................................................................................................................................................7 Scope ........................................................................................................................................................7 Search strategy .................................................................................................................................7 Search results ...................................................................................................................................7 Abbreviations and definitions ....................................................................................................................9 How are young people drinking .............................................................................................................. 10 Drinking behaviours ....................................................................................................................... 10 Risky drinking ................................................................................................................................ 11 Summary points – how young people drink .................................................................................. 13 Why are young people drinking .............................................................................................................. 15 Why engage in drinking? ............................................................................................................... 15 Why engage in risky drinking? ....................................................................................................... 16 Summary points – why young people drink ................................................................................... 17 What are the factors that influence drinking in young people............................................................. 18 Parents, family environment and alcohol consumption ................................................................. 18 Education and alcohol consumption .............................................................................................. 19 Socio-economic status, deprivation factors and alcohol consumption .......................................... 19 Summary points – factors that influence drinking in young people ............................................... 21 What is the burden of alcohol for young people ................................................................................... 22 Alcohol burden ............................................................................................................................... 22 Potential approaches to minimize alcohol-related harm ................................................................ 24 Summary points – burden of alcohol misuse and alcohol-related harm ....................................... 25 What is the current drinking advice for young people ......................................................................... 26 Drinking advice .............................................................................................................................. 26 Summary point – drinking advice and young people ..................................................................... 26 Drinking and Māori and Pacific Young People ...................................................................................... 27 Drinking patterns and burden of harm ........................................................................................... 27 Summary points – Māori and Pacific young people ...................................................................... 28 Conclusions .............................................................................................................................................. 29 Future research directions ...................................................................................................................... 30 References ................................................................................................................................................ 31 Appendix ................................................................................................................................................... 39 Table 1: List of selected key organization reports that include young people and drinking .................. 39 Table 2: Summary of selected peer-reviewed articles on young people and drinking .......................... 40 2 A REVIEW OF NEW ZEALAND AND OTHER INTERNATIONAL LITERATURE EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Alcohol is a widely used drug in New Zealand. This review focuses on the drinking behaviour of young New Zealanders (aged 12 to 24 years), and supports the analysis of alcohol data from the Statistics New Zealand Survey of Family Income and Employment (SoFIE) and the SoFIE-Health sub-study, conducted from 2002 to 2010.1 This report presents findings from literature published around this time period to provide context for understanding young peoples’ drinking behaviours, and how these have changed. HOW ARE YOUNG PEOPLE DRINKING • Evidence consistently shows that many young people think that it