Alcohol use and associated harms How Many is Too Many for BC Youth Aims of the report Identify harmful levels of alcohol consumption Consider risk and protective factors related to risky ID: 622404
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Slide1
How many is too many?
Alcohol use and associated harmsSlide2
How Many is Too Many for BC Youth?
Aims of the report:Identify harmful levels
of
alcohol
consumptionConsider risk and protective factors related to risky drinking Identify regional differences
Canada’s Low-Risk Drinking GuidelinesSlide3
Administration of the BC Adolescent Health Survey
2013 BC Adolescent Health Survey29,832 surveys were completed
1,645 classrooms
56 school districts
325 PHN’s and nursing studentsSlide4
Youth who drank alcoholSlide5
Youth who had not drunk alcohol
Over half of BC youth had never had an alcohol drinkGenerally, a more positive health profile
These youth were less likely to :
Have 3 or more friends
Feel engaged in their activitiesSlide6
Age of first alcohol useSlide7
Is early use harmful? – Overall and mental healthSlide8
Is early use harmful?–
School and communityEarly use was associated with:Not planning on carry on to post-secondary
Feeling less connected to school
Note: The difference between 15 years or older and had not tried alcohol was not statistically significant.Slide9
Is early use harmful?–
Health risk behavioursThose who tried alcohol at 12 or youngerThree times more likely to have had an STI
Six times more likely to have been involved in a pregnancySlide10
Youth who started drinking in the past yearSlide11
Youth who started drinking in the past year
Those who first used alcohol within the past year used alcohol for different reasons.More likely to be using alcohol because:
Experimenting
Wanting to have fun
Less likely to be using alcohol because:They were sadThey were stressedSlide12
How often are youth drinking?Slide13
Is it harmful to drink regularly? – Overall and mental healthSlide14
Is it harmful to drink regularly? – School and community
Drinking on 10 or more days was associated with:Lower community connectedness
Less engagement in activities
Fewer close friends
Lower school connectednessReduced likelihood of having post-secondary plansMore frequently skipping schoolSlide15
Is it harmful to drink regularly?– Health risk behaviours
More frequent alcohol use was linked to injuries and injury prevention behaviours.Slide16
Is it harmful to have more than one or two drinks?
Canada’s Low-Risk Drinking Guidelines
Males should not have more than three drinks a day, females should not have more than two drinks a day.
Binge Drinking
(3+ for females
4+ for males)
Heavy Sessional Drinking
(5 or more drinks)Slide17
Is it harmful to have more than one or two drinks? - Heavy sessional drinkingSlide18
Is it harmful to have more than one or two drinks?
- Binge drinkingSlide19
Use in the past month – age and gender differences
Younger youth who had been drinking on 1 or 2 daysHigher rates of extreme stress
More likely to have considered suicide
Younger females were more likely than younger males to
Drink on 3 or more daysEngage in heavy sessional drinkingSlide20
What are the consequences of alcohol use?
Consequences of alcohol use in the past year
(among youth who had used alcohol
exclusively)
Was told I did something I couldn’t remember
21%
Passed out
12%
Got injured
4%
Argued with family members
4%
Lost friends or broke up with a girlfriend or boyfriend
3%
Damaged property
2%
School work or grades changed
2%
Got into a physical fight
1%
Got in trouble with police
1%
Had sex when I didn’t want to
1%
Overdosed
<1%
Had to get treatment for alcohol or drug abuse
NRSlide21
What are the reasons for alcohol use?
Most common reasons youth used alcohol the last time they drank
(among youth who had used alcohol exclusively)
Wanted to have fun
56%
Wanted to experiment
30%
Friends were doing it
27%
Because of stress
9%
Felt down or sad
7%
Nothing else to do
4%
Pressured into it
3%
Didn’t mean to do it (e.g., someone spiked my drink)
1%
To manage physical pain
1%
To help focus
<1%Slide22
Who is at risk for harmful alcohol use?
Youth in rural areasYouth who were born in Canada
Youth who were employed
Sexual minority youthSlide23
Who is at risk for harmful alcohol use
? - PovertySlide24
Who is at risk for harmful alcohol use? - Youth
who had experienced abuse or violenceSlide25
Who is at risk for harmful alcohol use?
- Peer relationships
3 or more friends
= more likely to have started drinking alcohol at 12 years old or younger
Females with
6 or more friends Males with 10 or more friends
=more likely to engage in heavy sessional drinkingSlide26
What protective factors are linked to less harmful use? - Family
Family connectednessParental monitoringSupportive
adult Slide27
What protective factors are linked to less harmful use? -
SchoolSchool connectednessPositive peer relationships at school
Helpful school staffSlide28
What protective factors are linked to less harmful use? -
PeersNumber of close friends can be both a risk and protective factorPositive influence of prosocial peersSlide29
Summary
Alcohol use is common among youth in British Columbia.
Generally, youth who drink within the Canadian Low-Risk Drinking Guidelines report a more positive health picture and less negative consequences than those who exceed the guidelines
Family, school, and peer support were all linked to less risky alcohol consumption.Slide30
Thank you
annie@mcs.bc.ca
duncan@mcs.bc.ca