www.mcs.bc.ca

How many is too many?

Alcohol use and associated harms

www.mcs.bc.ca

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 drinking

– Identify regional differences

If youth under 19 decide to drink they should:

• Speak to their parents or guardians about drinking

• Never have more than 1 to 2 drinks per occasion• Never drink more than 1 or 2 times per week

For youth aged 19-24 years:

• Females should never have more than 2 drinks a day and never more than 10 drinks a week

• Males should never have more than 3 drinks a day and never more than 15 drinks a week.

Canada’s Low-Risk Drinking Guidelines

www.mcs.bc.ca

Administration of the BC Adolescent Health Survey

2013 BC Adolescent Health Survey

▪ 29,832 surveys were completed

▪ 1,645 classrooms

▪ 56 school districts

▪ 325 PHN’s and nursing students

www.mcs.bc.ca

Youth who drank alcohol

12 years old or

younger

13 14 15 16 17 18 years old

0%

25%

50%

75%

7%

16%

33%

49%

60%

71% 72%

Ever tried alcohol

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Youth who had not drunk alcohol

▪ Over half of BC youth had never had an alcohol drink

▪ Generally, a more positive health profile

▪ These youth were less likely to :– Have 3 or more friends

– Feel engaged in their activities

www.mcs.bc.ca

Age of first alcohol use

Less than 9 years

old

9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 years

or older

4%1%

3% 3%

10%

20%

24%

20%

11%

4%

Age first tried alcohol(among youth who had tried alcohol)

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Is early use harmful? – Overall and mental health

Overall health Mental health

76%66%

82%73%

87%80%

Good/excellent health by age youth first tried alcohol

(among youth aged 16-18 who had tried alcohol)

12 years old or younger

13 or 14

15 years or older

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Is early use harmful?– School and community

▪ Early use was associated with:– Not planning on carry on to post-secondary

– Feeling less connected to school

10% 14%21% 23%

Highly connected to school by the age that youth first tried

alcohol(among youth aged 16-18)

Note: The difference between 15 years or older and had not tried alcohol was not statistically significant.

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Is early use harmful?– Health risk behaviours

▪ Those who tried alcohol at 12 or younger– Three times more likely to have had an STI

– Six times more likely to have been involved in a pregnancy

12 years old or younger

13 or 14 15 years or older

Never tried alcohol

68% 74%

43%

5%

Ever tried marijuana by age that youth first tried alcohol

(among youth aged 16-18)

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Youth who started drinking in the past year

Beer Wine Liquor Cooler

14%

4%

22%16%

30%

8%

38%

23%

What youth drank last Saturday(among youth who had tried alcohol)

First drank alcohol recentlyFirst drank more than a year ago

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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 sad

– They were stressed

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How often are youth drinking?

0 days 1 or 2 3 to 5 6 to 9 10 to 29 All 30 days

38%35%

16%

7%3% 1%

Number of days youth drank in the past month

(among youth who had tried alcohol)

www.mcs.bc.ca

0 to 2 days 3 to 5 days 6 to 9 days 10 or more days

85% 82%77%

70%

Good/excellent overall health by number of days youth drank in the past month(among youth who had tried alcohol)

Is it harmful to drink regularly? – Overall and mental health

Canada’s Low-Risk Drinking Guidelines:

Youth should not drink on more than one or two days a week

www.mcs.bc.ca

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 connectedness

– Reduced likelihood of having post-secondary plans

– More frequently skipping school

www.mcs.bc.ca

Is it harmful to drink regularly?– Health risk behaviours

▪ More frequent alcohol use was linked to injuries and injury prevention behaviours.

0 days 1 or 2 days 3 to 5 days 6 to 9 days 10 or more days

4%7%

13%

22%

36%

Needed help for substance use in the past year by number of days youth drank in the

past month(among youth who had tried alcohol)

www.mcs.bc.ca

Is it harmful to have more than one or two drinks?

Youth should not have more than

one or two drinks on any one occasion.

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 females4+ for males)

Heavy Sessional Drinking

(5 or more drinks)

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Is it harmful to have more than one or two drinks? - Heavy sessional drinking

8%

21%

Skipped school on three or more days in the past month

(among youth who had tried alcohol)

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Is it harmful to have more than one or two drinks? - Binge drinking

41%

5%

41%

5%

76%

15%

Marijuana use by number of alcoholic drinks females had last Saturday

(among females who had tried alcohol)

Did not drink last Saturday

Had 1 or 2 drinks

Had 3 or more drinks

www.mcs.bc.ca

Use in the past month – age and gender differences

▪ Younger youth who had been drinking on 1 or 2 days– Higher rates of extreme stress

– More likely to have considered suicide

▪ Younger females were more likely than younger males to– Drink on 3 or more days

– Engage in heavy sessional drinking

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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

NR

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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%

www.mcs.bc.ca

Who is at risk for harmful alcohol use?

▪ Youth in rural areas

▪ Youth who were born in Canada

▪ Youth who were employed

▪ Sexual minority youth

29%34%

20%24%

Risky alcohol use by whether youth were born in Canada

(among females who had tried alcohol)

Born in Canada

Born outside Canada

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Who is at risk for harmful alcohol use? - Poverty

Drank on three or more days Engaged in heavy sessional drinking

49%

58%

26%

38%

Alcohol use in the past month by how frequently youth went to bed hungry(among youth who had tried alcohol)

Went to bed hungry often or always Went to bed hungry less often

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Who is at risk for harmful alcohol use? - Youth who had experienced abuse or violence

Drank on three or more days

Engaged in heavy sessional drinking

33%

43%

26%

37%

Risky alcohol use in the past month by whether youth had been physically

abused(among females who had tried alco-

hol)Physically abused Not physically abused

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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 drinking

www.mcs.bc.ca

What protective factors are linked to less harmful use? - Family

▪ Family connectedness

▪ Parental monitoring

▪ Supportive adult

37% 42%

Engaged in heavy sessional drinking at least once in the past month by

family support(among youth who had tried alcohol)

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What protective factors are linked to less harmful use? - School

▪ School connectedness

▪ Positive peer relationships at school

▪ Helpful school staff

Teacher School counsellor Other school staff

29% 31% 30%

48% 44%50%

Binge drank last Saturday by whether youth found school staff helpful

(among females who had tried alcohol)

Helpful Not helpful

www.mcs.bc.ca

What protective factors are linked to less harmful use? - Peers

▪ Number of close friends can be both a risk and protective factor

▪ Positive influence of prosocial peers

Friends would be upset if youth got drunk

Friends would not be upset

14%

43%

Engaged in heavy sessional drinking in the past month

(among youth who had tried alcohol)

www.mcs.bc.ca

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.

www.mcs.bc.ca

Thank you

annie@mcs.bc.caduncan@mcs.bc.c

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