In November 2006, we asked Couch members about their family attitudes to alcohol, including at what age they believed young people should be allowed to start drinking. We also asked members how they perceived and managed the drinking behaviour of young people under their care.
Many thanks to the 812 Couch members who completed this poll. The majority of those who took part (89 percent) were moderately to very concerned at the drinking behaviour of young people and 248 Couch members had put a plan in place with a young person to help keep them safe when they were drinking away from home.
Nearly all respondents (98 percent) felt that peers and friends influence the amount young people drink, and 83 percent believed that parents’ and caregivers’ attitudes towards alcohol are also an influence. Media influence and advertising were also considered important factors in the drinking behaviour of young people.
In responding to the question on what would have a positive influence on changing the drinking behaviour of young people, 90 percent of Couch members supported encouraging parents and caregivers to act responsibly in their own drinking habits and 80 percent believed that other young people’s disapproval of excessive drinking would help. Encouraging public and parental disapproval, along with strong law enforcement, was supported by over 60 percent of the respondents. More than three-quarters of Couch members did not support introducing a legal age at which young people could start drinking, however, 62 percent endorsed raising the alcohol purchase age to 20. Fifty percent also believed this was the age at which young people could begin drinking without a parent or caregiver present.
Just over half of the respondents said they would allow young people under 18 to drink at home under parental supervision. However, only 39 percent said they would provide the alcohol and only 20 percent said they had actually given drinks to someone under 18. Of those who did provide alcohol, most (91 percent) said they limited consumption to one or two glasses. Most had not, and would not, provide alcohol to young people to drink away from home.
Most Couch members who took part reported that they or another adult aged 18 and over drink alcohol in their home.
About half of Couch members who took part would, or do, allow family members or other people aged under 18 to drink alcohol at their home.
About three quarters (77 percent) of poll respondents believe young people under the age of 18 should be allowed to drink a partial or watered-down glass of beer/wine/spirits with a parent/caregiver present. Fifteen percent believe that young people under the age of 13 should be allowed to drink a partial or watered-down glass of beer/wine/spirits with a parent or caregiver present.
About half of the Couch members who took part believe young people under the age of 18 should be allowed to drink a full glass of beer/wine/spirits with a parent/caregiver present. Only three members (less than one percent) thought young people under the age of 13 should be allowed to drink a full glass of beer/wine/spirits with a parent/caregiver present.
Only five percent of Couch members believed young people under the age of 18 should be allowed to drink beer/wine/spirits without a parent or caregiver present. Fifty percent of poll respondents believed young people should wait until the age of 20 before drinking beer, wine or spirits without a parent or caregiver present while 39 percent were in support of young people aged 18 and over being allowed to do this.
The majority of Couch members who took part said they would not provide alcohol for young people (under 18) to drink away from home.
The majority of Couch members who took part said they had never provided alcohol for young people (under 18) to drink away from home.
Less than half of poll respondents said that they would provide alcohol for young people (under 18) to drink at home.
Twenty percent of Couch members who took part said that they had provided alcohol for young people (under 18) to drink at home.
Q10 & 11: If you have provided alcohol for young people to drink at your home, did you limit the amount they were allowed? What limit did you set?
The majority (92 percent) of Couch members who had provided alcohol for young people at home said they had limited the amount of alcohol they provided. Of those who limited the amount of alcohol provided at home, the majority (91 percent) set this limit at one or two glasses. One percent said they had limited the amount of alcohol to five or more glasses.
Q12: Have you put a plan in place with a young person for whom you have some responsibility to help keep them safe when they are drinking away from home?
Of the 298 Couch members who felt that this question was applicable to them, most (83 percent) said that they had put a plan in place with a young person, for whom they had some responsibility, to help keep them safe when they were drinking away from home.
Nearly all poll respondents (98 percent) felt that peers and friends influence the amount young people drink and most (83 percent) felt that parents’ and caregivers’ attitudes and behaviour towards alcohol also have an influence. At least two-thirds of respondents identified the availability of alcohol and society’s attitudes towards alcohol in general as influences on the amount young people drink. Just over half the respondents considered that media/advertising and enjoyment of alcohol or its effects also have an influence.
Q14: What other factors influence the amount young people drink?
Eighty-six Couch members felt that there were other factors beyond those listed in Q13 that influence the amount young people drink, such as the New Zealand drinking culture, and its associated binge drinking and glorification of alcohol use. Some felt that adolescents drink too much because they feel ‘bulletproof’, get bored easily, are developmentally immature, want to be seen as ‘grown up’, want to rebel and test boundaries, or want to experiment.
The majority of Couch members who took part felt that encouraging parents and caregivers to act responsibly in their own drinking habits and increasing young people’s disapproval of anyone drinking too much would have a positive influence on changing the drinking behaviour of young people who drink too much (90 percent and 80 percent respectively).
Q16: What other actions would have a positive influence on changing the drinking behaviour of young people who drink too much?
Eighty-one Couch members felt that there were actions beyond those listed in Q15 that would have a positive influence on changing the drinking behaviour of young people who drink too much.
Many felt that providing young people with better information or education about alcohol and its effects would be helpful.
Demystifying alcohol use and modelling/teaching moderation and responsible drinking was another common theme. Parents were identified as having a significant role in this.
Some felt that reducing the accessibility of alcohol to young people and increasing the deterrents to drinking were important. Suggestions included better regulation of clubs and social organisations, increasing the price of alcohol, restricting age of purchase, punishing those who supply alcohol to under-age young people and stronger penalties for public drunkenness.
The majority of Couch members who took part were moderately to very concerned about the drinking behaviour of young people in New Zealand (58 percent very concerned, 31 percent moderately concerned). Only one percent were not concerned at all.
One-third of Couch members who took part said that they were a parent/caregiver of a young person aged between 13 and 19 years of age.
Conclusion
The majority of poll respondents were moderately to very concerned about the drinking behaviour of young people in New Zealand.
Most felt that parents and society as a whole had a part to play in changing what many saw as a ‘drinking culture’. The majority felt that encouraging parents and caregivers to act responsibly in their own drinking habits and increasing young people’s disapproval of anyone drinking too much would have a positive influence on changing the drinking behaviour of young people. Less than a quarter of Couch members who responded felt that introducing a legal age at which people are allowed to begin drinking would have a positive influence on changing the drinking behaviour of young people. However, about half did support increasing the purchase age to 20.
Towards the end of last year there was much public debate around the proposed amendment to the Sale of Liquor Act and concern about the drinking behaviour of young people. In November, the Government decided not to increase the legal purchase age of alcohol from 18 to 20. Instead there will be a review to determine the harm caused by the sale and supply of liquor to minors, evaluate the effectiveness of current restrictions and develop proposals that might be necessary to address the causes of harm (see www.beehive.govt.nz for more information about the review). The Families Commission intends to contribute to this review to ensure it looks at these issues within the broader context of our drinking culture.
Thanks again to the Couch members who participated in this poll.
