YOUTH BINGE DRINKING

An Investigation into the Problem of Youth Binge Drinking in the UK

Table of Contents

Chapter 1: Phenomenon of Youth Binge Drinking in the UK1

Chapter 2: Extent and Prevalence of Youth Binge Drinking across the UK1

Chapter 3: Explanations for Binge Drinking Amongst Young People in the UK3

Chapter 4: Health and Social Consequences of Youth Binge Drinking3

Chapter 5: Policies and Interventions to Regulate, Control or Prevent Youth Binge Drinking5

References........................................................................................................................................6An Investigation into the problem of Youth Binge Drinking in the UK

Chapter 1: Phenomenon of Youth Binge Drinking in the UK

The concept of binge drinking is not new among the people of the UK. However, as the concept has started to become common, youth has indulged in the act to a large extent. Originally, “Binge” was described as a term which represents constant drinking of alcohol by a person and then reaching a stage where the target fails to continue alcohol drinking due to his poor physical condition (Wood, 2007). In the modern age, binge defines over consumption of alcohol on a single session. According to the study of Institute of Alcohol Studies, binge drinking involves the drinking of a minimum of 8 standard units among men, and 6 standard units among females.

This is actually double the limit that is considered safe for alcohol drinking according to medical department. There are a number of researchers that consider the definition of binge drinking as unclear and politically charged. According to many researchers (Arnett, 2005; Harrington, 2000; Pedersen & Kolstad, 2000; Wood, 2007), young people fail to consider themselves binge drinkers because of their slow rate of consumption, thus avoiding the situation of an appearance of serious drinking. According to Anderson (2008), the act of binge drinking has risen within the youth of the UK since 1995. Since the problem has continued to rise, this study will investigate into the problem of youth binge drinking in the UK.

Chapter 2: Extent and Prevalence of Youth Binge Drinking Across the UK

Binge drinking has often been associated with younger drinkers; particularly college aged men and women (Newburn and Shiner, 2010). There is a good reason for this association. A study conducted by “Euro barometer” in 2006, stated that 75% of the respondents, who were under 18, had been a part of binge drinking at least once in the last 12 months. Moreover, 65% of those had been a part of binge drinking in the last 30 days (Newburn and Shiner, 2010). The prevalence of binge drinking is on the rise, as statistics show that the overall figure of binge drinking was 17.1% (Home, 2010).

Because high-risk drinking has a negative influence on personal growth and development, the need to reduce high-risk drinking behaviours has become more prevalent. The UK Surgeon General declared in 2000 that one major health goal at the time would be to reduce high risk drinking among college students; however, high risk drinking still remains a problem (Brown et al., 2007). According to Wechsler and Nelson, over 90% of the alcohol consumed by college students is ...