Substance use among 15-16 year olds in the UK: Key findings from the 2011 European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD)

The collection of comparative data on trends in substance use among young people across Europe is vital in supporting and developing policy, practice and research. Homogenisation of international youth cultures, globalisation of addictive goods marketing, and the increasing importance of EU strategies designed to limit the harmful impact of substance use means that it is essential that UK data are considered alongside those of other countries. The main source of data collection on substance use among European youth is The European Survey Project on Alcohol and Drugs (ESPAD). This is a high quality survey that has been conducted every four years since 1995. It collects comparable data on trends in substance use among 15-16 year old school pupils across a number of European countries (n=36). The survey provides intelligence to assist with the design and targeting of interventions that support healthy adolescent development, as well as for monitoring the impact of national policies.


In 2011, the Centre for Public Health at Liverpool John Moores University, conducted the UK element of the fifth phase of the ESPAD survey with funding from Alcohol Research UK. In total 36 countries and around 100,000 students took part; with 1712 being from the UK. A standardised methodology and questionnaire was used in order to provide comparable data on cigarette, alcohol and illicit drug use across countries and time. In the UK, the data collection period ran during March-April 2011 in a random sample of 74 secondary schools in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland (sampling was in proportion to the number of schools in each country). The final sample included 1712 school children born in 1995 and comprised a relatively even split of boys (n=865) and girls (n=847). It must be noted that this research surveyed the general school population and thus does not provide a picture of substance use among those not participating in mainstream education, where there is likely be a greater proportion of young problematic substance users. Substance use issues for these young people are likely to be different. Despite the overall number of schools agreeing to take part in the survey being lower than previous phases (approximately 1 in 17 agreed) the strength of the random sampling process means that the data can be considered representative of a wide variety of UK schools. The survey also complements other UK research into substance use, such as the Health and Social Care Information Centre’s, Smoking Drinking and Drug Use survey, which provides comparable data for 11-15 year olds in England.   > > > >   Read More