Many Young People Don't Know What Constitutes Sensible Alcohol Consumption

A new study published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Review reveals that young people do not possess the knowledge or skills required to adhere to government guidelines for responsible alcohol consumption. This article is part of the March special themed issue of the journal on low risk drinking guidelines.

Led by Richard de Visser, PhD, of the University of Sussex, researchers examined young people's knowledge of, and use of, government guidelines for safe alcohol consumption.

A total of 309 secondary school students and 125 university students in England completed a survey regarding knowledge and beliefs. The university students also reported their alcohol consumption and completed tasks in which they poured their "usual" drinks and what the government guidelines for maximum "unit" consumption on a daily and weekly basis.

Most respondents lacked the knowledge and skills required to drink in accordance with government guidelines. Participants' "usual" drinks were substantially larger than one unit, and participants tended to underestimate the unit content of drinks.

For 5 of the 7 items examining knowledge and guidelines, fewer than half of the respondents gave correct responses.


Although university students gave a significantly greater number of accurate estimates than did school students, only 1/4 of their estimates were within plus or minus 10% of actual content. The majority of estimates were underestimates: 52% among school students; 65% among university students.

"Our results mean that people's reports of drinking patterns in research may lead to inaccurate estimates of the health effects of different levels of alcohol use," de Visser notes. "There may be a need for more and/or different alcohol education in schools and the media."


This study is published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Review. Media wishing to receive a PDF of this article may contact healthnews@wiley.com

Full citation: de Visser and Birch. My cup runneth over: Young people's lack of knowledge of low-risk drinking guidelines. Drug and Alcohol Review. URL: http://doi.wiley.com/10.1111/10.1111/j.1465- 3362.2011.00371.x

About the Author: Richard de Visser, PhD, is affiliated with the University of Sussex.

To arrange an interview with Dr. de Visser, please contact rd48@sussex.ac.uk or his his press officer Jacqui Bealing at j.a.bealing@sussex.ac.uk.

About the Journal:

Drug and Alcohol Review is the Asia-Pacific's leading multidisciplinary journal addressing issues related to alcohol and drug-related problems. As the official journal of the Australasian Professional Society on Alcohol and other Drugs (APSAD), Drug and Alcohol Review is an international meeting ground for the views, expertise and experience of all those involved in studying alcohol, tobacco and drug problems.

About Wiley-Blackwell:

Wiley-Blackwell is the international scientific, technical, medical, and scholarly publishing business of John Wiley & Sons, with strengths in every major academic and professional field and partnerships with many of the world's leading societies. Wiley-Blackwell publishes nearly 1,500 peer-reviewed journals and 1,500+ new books annually in print and online, as well as databases, major reference works and laboratory protocols. For more information, please visit www.wileyblackwell.com or our online platform, Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com), one of the world's most extensive multidisciplinary collections of online resources, covering life, health, social and physical sciences, and humanities.