Child binge drinkers at greater risk of alcoholism, says studyThe Guardian Thursday September 6, 2007
John Carvel, social affairs editor
· Much higher likelihood of crime and drug use
· Research based on 11,000 who were born in 1970
Children who have begun binge drinking by the age of 16 are more likely to use drugs as adults, become alcoholics and acquire a string of criminal convictions, researchers at the Institute of Child Health in London said today. In a long-term study of the lives led by 11,000 British children born in 1970, they found those who drank heavily in their mid-teens encountered a wide range of social and medical problems by the age of 30.
Children who were binge drinkers at 16 were 60% more likely to be alcoholic at 30 and 70% more likely to be regular heavy drinkers. They were 40% more likely to use illegal drugs, 40% more likely to suffer mental health problems and 60% more likely to be homeless.
The research found they were 40% more likely to have suffered accidents, almost four times as likely to have been excluded from school, and 30% more likely to have gained no qualifications. The binge drinkers were also 90% more likely to have criminal convictions.
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