Primary school kids should get alcohol awareness help, charity says 

Drinkaware chief executive Sheena Horgan said there was growing evidence that younger people were using alcohol as a coping strategy. Picture: iStock

Children as young as those in sixth class should be introduced to information about the impact of alcohol and given the chance to develop the ability to say no to peer pressure, according to the chief executive of Drinkaware.

On Tuesday, the charity publishes a report into its junior cycle programme aimed at reducing alcohol use among younger teenagers, carried out by Professor Sinéad McGilloway and John A Weafer of the Centre for Mental Health and Community Research in Maynooth University's Department of Psychology and Social Sciences Institute.

Chief executive Sheena Horgan said the impact of alcohol use among young people was likely to have been exacerbated over the past year due to Covid-19, particularly given the access points for many in the study was at home, and alongside a perceived permissive attitude towards drinking by parents.

In the report foreword, Ms Horgan said alcohol consumption had increased over the course of the pandemic, adding: "It is therefore likely, that for some of this study’s participating students, their exposure and access"

She said coping abilities had also been impacted by the pandemic, with growing evidence that younger people are also using alcohol as a coping strategy: One-in-five of those who were drinking in third year agreed with the statement: “I feel less pressure on me when I have a beer or two.” 

Great interest in the upcoming briefing: @ProfMcGilloway presenting results of the independent @CMHCR_maynooth research on 3-year evaluation of a much-needed #JuniorCycle #alcohol education programme. Details & registration link here @MaynoothUni @MU__SSI https://t.co/LOn06hYVR7

— Drinkaware IRL (@Drinkaware_ie) March 2, 2021

The Alcohol Education Programme for Junior Cycle, which began in 2018, is the only nationally available primary prevention alcohol education programme for younger students and Ms Horgan said Drinkaware was committed to "scaling up" so it could run in all schools, if sufficient supports were in place. She also said an introduction to the issue at primary level would also help.

"What is coming through all the research, from teachers and parents, is there is a need to start younger, to talk to the kids younger," she said. "There are the critical age points, and sixth class to first year is one of them. Some form of alcohol education would be and could be beneficial to all in education."

Prof McGilloway said sixth class could offer "a very gentle introduction" to the issue, and she said parents were "crying out for help" and needed support.

"It's really about having those conversations with children, with members of the wider family," she said.

One-in-five of those who were drinking in third year agreed with the statement: 'I feel less pressure on me when I have a beer or two.' Picture: iStock

The study showed many third years believed young people drank for fun or to relieve boredom, but peer pressure was also an issue: one third or more students in both second and third year, compared to just one-fifth of first years, cited it as a reason for drinking.

Ms Horgan said: "It's about developing the social skills – how do you say no to a friend?"

Prof McGilloway said: "There is a proportion starting to drink at the end of year 2, but also a proportion saying they are not going to drink or intending to delay that is very much going in the right direction."

"Kids who are drinking [at that age] will continue to drink regardless of the programme – they might reduce [intake], we might get them to make better decisions, and that's not a bad thing."

Among the recommendations is that future, enhanced iterations of the  Alcohol Education Programme for Junior Cycle should be rolled out to more schools countrywide.

www.drinkaware.ie