Half of British teenagers start drinking by the age of 14, a major study has found.
More than one in ten 14-year-olds admit binge-drinking – defined as having at least five alcoholic drinks in one sitting.
The study of 11,000 children paints a worrying portrait of risky behaviour starting from a young age. A third of 14-year-olds said they had physically assaulted someone, and 6 per cent had experimented with drugs.
University College London researchers, who have tracked the participants since birth as part of the Millennium Cohort Study, said 4 per cent admitted shoplifting and 14 per cent had caused a public nuisance – such as being noisy or rude in a public place – at least once in the previous 12 months. Four per cent had been involved in vandalism.
The study by University College London (pictured) reveals uncomfortable truths about the UK’s youth
The researchers, who interview the participants and their parents every three years, said family background had little impact on the results. Middle-class children whose parents had a university degree were actually more likely to have been involved in anti-social behaviour, they found.
The main factor that seemed to have an effect on children’s behaviour was if parents remained married – with children from single- parent families more likely to commit crime or take drugs.
Professor Emla Fitzsimons, director of the Millennium Cohort Study, said: ‘Our findings are a valuable insight into health- damaging behaviours among today’s teenagers. There is clear evidence that substance use increases sharply between ages 11 and 14, and that experimentation before age 12 can lead to more habitual use by age 14.
‘This suggests that targeting awareness and support to children at primary school should be a priority.’
Experts warned that children can damage their health by drinking heavily at a young age, but Justine Roberts, founder of Mumsnet, said rebellious behaviour was simply part of being a teenager.
She added: ‘Parenting rebellious teenagers can be a lot like parenting toddlers: easy when it’s not your child, frustratingly difficult when it is.
‘Horrifying as it can be to smell cigarette smoke or alcohol wafting from your child’s school coat, Mumsnet users who have been through the teenager mill advise counting to ten and trying to keep things in proportion; after all, pushing boundaries is pretty much the first line of the teenager job description. As children move towards adulthood, the crucial thing is to keep open the lines of communication.’
But Justine Roberts (pictured), founder of Mumsnet, said rebellious behaviour was simply part of being a teenager
Behaviour expert Professor David Paton, of Nottingham University, said it was noteworthy that parents’ education had ‘so little effect on risky behaviour’. ‘Teens from working-class families – those whose parents have not been to university – are no more likely to engage in risky behaviour such as drug-taking or binge-drinking and are actually less likely to have engaged in anti-social behaviour such as assaulting someone.’
Sarah Brennan, chief executive of the YoungMinds charity, said: ‘Young people may be more likely to behave in a risky or violent way if they have experienced trauma or violent behaviour growing up. Early intervention for those who have had difficult childhoods can have a positive impact.’
Professor Sir Ian Gilmore, of the Alcohol Health Alliance, said: ‘Young people are physically unable to tolerate alcohol as well as adults, and there is evidence of a wide range of short-term and long-term harms linked to children’s drinking.
‘Young people who drink are more likely to engage in unsafe sex, try drugs, and fall behind in school. In addition, the younger someone starts drinking, the more likely they are to develop a problem with alcohol when they are older.’