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The second round of the Young Persons' Behaviour and Attitudes Survey was carried out by Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) in October and November 2003. The research outlines the behaviour and attitudes of young people towards a range of different issues, including: school, nutrition, sports, smoking, alcohol, solvents, drugs, policing, personal safety, sexual experience and knowledge, relationships, the environment and travelling to school.

Main findings

• 60% of respondents reported ever having taken an alcoholic drink (not just a taste or a sip).
• Similar proportions of boys (60%) and girls (59%) reported ever having an alcoholic drink.
• Among those who could remember what age they were when they had their first alcoholic drink, 57% reported having had a drink by the age of 12.
• More boys (63%) than girls (51%) reported having had a drink by the age of 12.
• Of those pupils who reported drinking, 10% reported having had an alcoholic drink only once, while 44% of pupils reported drinking on more than 10 occasions.
• On the last occasion that pupils drank, friends (32%) and parents (15%) were the most common sources of alcohol.
• 22% of pupils reported having taken their last drink somewhere outside (park, street, entry etc), 21% at home and 20% at someone else's house.
• 23% of 16 year olds drank at least once a week.
• 56% of pupils who reported drinking had been drunk at least once and 14% reported having been drunk more than 10 times.
• Pupils reported having been in trouble with parents (29%), friends (13%), local people (11%), police (10%) and school (2%) as a result of drinking alcohol. 
• 20% of pupils aged 14 and 57% of pupils aged 16 or older reported having bought alcohol themselves.
• Of those pupils who had ever taken alcohol, the most commonly reported reasons for drinking were because they "liked the taste" (86%) and to celebrate (84%).
• 78% of pupils reported that they knew "quite a lot" or "a lot" about the effects/risks of drinking alcohol.

Copies of the report and the entire survey results (in PDF format) are available from the NISRA website at:
www.csu.nisra.gov.uk/surveys/survey.asp?id=11

The secondary analysis of the 2003 Young Persons' Behaviour and Attitudes Survey, commissioned by the Drug and Alcohol Information and Research Unit (DAIRU), is available from: www.dhsspsni.gov.uk/index/stats_research/stats-pubs/stats-ypbas_2003.htm.

Further information and copies of the report can be obtained by contacting:
Ms Moira McKee
Central Survey Unit
McAuley House
2-14 Castle Street
Belfast, BT1 1SA
Tel: 028 9034 8212
Email: moira.mckee.csu@nics.gov.uk

Reference

1. Social and Market Research. Secondary analysis of the 2003 Young Persons Behaviour and Attitudes Survey (drugs, solvents and alcohol). Belfast: DAIRU, 2005.