Alcohol results from the NACD 2010/11 Drug Prevalence Survey

Dr Deirdre Mongan

Objective

Obtain reliable prevalence rates on:– Frequency and volume of drinking– Harmful drinking patterns– Harm from own drinking– Harm from others’ drinking

Methodology

• Representative sample 4,843 respondents aged 18-64 years

• Fieldwork Oct 2010 – June 2011

• Response rate – 60%

• Demographics – gender, age, education, marital status and social class

Frequency of drinking

• 87% (89% males, 85% females) were current drinkers– Highest among females aged 18-24 years (94%) – Lowest among females aged 50-64 years (79%)

• 31% of men and 21% of women consumed alcohol at least twice weekly

Volume of drinking

• 24% consumed 1-2 standard drinks/drinking occasion – Most common among adults aged 50-64 years (34%)

• 27% consumed 7+ standard drinks/drinking occasion– Highest among males 18-24 years (60%) and 25-34 years (48%)

Harmful drinking patterns

• Risky Single Occasion Drinking (binge drinking)

• AUDIT-C screening tool

• RAPS – used to screen for dependence

Risky Single Occasion Drinking (RSOD)

• 45% of adults aged 18-64 engaged in RSOD at least once per month in the year prior to the survey

• This corresponds to 52% of drinkers – 64% of male drinkers– 39% of female drinkers

• RSOD was most common among 18-24-year-olds (72%)

AUDIT-C screening tool

• 50% of adults aged 18-64 scored positive for harmful drinking using the AUDIT-C screening tool

• This corresponds to 58% of drinkers– 71% of male drinkers – 44% of female drinkers

AUDIT-C: gender and age

18–24 25–34 35–49 50–640

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

75

62

5448

8276

67 6568

4840

29

All

Males

Females

Age group

%

RAPS screening tool

• 23% reported feelings of guilt or remorse • 24% reported that friends/family told them about things

they said/did that they did not remember • 12% reported that they failed to do what was normally

expected • 2% reported that they needed a first drink in the morning

• Two or more positive scores (18%)– 23% males, 14% females

• Three or more positive scores (7%)

RAPS screening tool: gender and age

18–24 25–34 35–49 50–6405

101520253035404550

43

23

117

47

31

1511

40

16

83

All

Males

Females

Age group

%

Alcohol consumption by demographics

• Education and social class did not predict harmful drinking patterns

• Single drinkers were more likely to drink in a harmful manner than married drinkers of the same age – 75% of single drinkers aged 18-34 years had a positive AUDIT-C

score compared with 54% of married/cohabiting drinkers of the same age

Harm from own drinking

Six harms – harm to health, home life, work, friendships, being involved in an accident or fight

• 20% experienced at least one of these harms as a result of their drinking– 26% males, 14% females

• 13% reported harm to health – Most common among those aged 18-24 years (24%)

• Males aged 18-24 years were most likely to have been in a fight (24%) or an accident (11%)

Harm from others’ drinking

Five harms – family and money problems, being assaulted, being a passenger with a drunk driver, property vandalised

• 27% experienced harm as a result of someone else’s drinking

• 14% reported family problems– Most common among females aged 25-34 years (19%) and males

and females aged 18-24 years (18%)

Summary

• Most adults aged 18-64 years consumed alcohol with older females most likely to abstain from alcohol

• According to the AUDIT-C screening tool the majority of drinkers consumed alcohol in a harmful manner, which is consistent with previous research

• Harmful drinking patterns were most common among those aged 18-24 years

• Males were most likely to experience alcohol-related harm from their and others’ drinking