Small booze allowance 'helps keep teens out of trouble'

Published on Thursday 8 October 2009 20:29

PARENTS can help to keep their teenage children out of trouble by giving them a weekly allowance of alcohol, a British study has found.

Teenagers who rely on obtaining their own supplies of cheap alcohol are much more likely to be involved in violence and other forms of bad behaviour, it is claimed.

Researchers conducted a drinking survey of almost 10,000 young teenagers aged 15 to 16 in the north-west of England.

They found that almost 30 per cent of the youngsters had experienced violence when drunk and 12.5 per cent reported having sexual encounters they regretted as a result of drinking.

A total of 35.8 per cent of the teenagers had drunk in public places such as parks and shopping centres and 45.3 per cent had suffered episodes of forgetfulness after drinking.

But how the teenagers obtained their alcohol made a significant difference to the harm it caused them.

No teenage drinking was risk-free, the researchers said. However, teenagers were more likely to get into trouble if they bought cheap alcohol themselves, rather than gaining access to it through their parents.

Just under one fifth of teens who drank once a week and were supplied with alcohol by their parents had been involved in violence when drunk.

But the proportion getting into fights rose to 36 per cent for those drinking as often after obtaining alcohol by other means.

A strong link was found between the availability of cheap drinks and alcohol-related violence, "regretted" sex, and drinking in public places.

Large bottles of cheap cider were especially associated with drinking in public, while relatively expensive "alcopops" were not a significant problem.