CCLD 301

Outcome: 301.3
Case studies - Child Development 12-16 years

The facts about drinking -

• 10% of twelve-fifteen year-old drinkers say they buy their own alcohol
• 66% of 15 year-olds have bought booze
• 36% of thirteen year-old and 44% of 14 year-old drinkers prefer alcopops
• 14-15 year-olds say they like strong, cheap, pleasant-tasting drinks
• 48% of 15 year-old boys and 40% of 15 year-old girls have had a drink in the last
week
• 84% of 12 year-olds have drunk alcohol
• by the age of 16, 94% of young people have tried it
• 33% of 15 year-olds drink alcohol in a bar at least once a week and 52% of fifteen
year-olds say they either drink at home or at a friend's house
• over 5% of 14-15 year-olds, and just under 10% of 15-16 year-olds drink beyond
the recommended maximum limits of regular consumption
• the maximum limits of regular consumption recommended for adults - 21 alcohol
units per week for men, 14 per week for women.
• 10% of underage drinkers have been either been too hungover to go to school the
next day, have needed a drink in the morning or have got into trouble at school as a
result of drinking
• 40% of 13 and 14 year-olds were 'drunk or stoned' when they first had sex

Sources:

1. Institute of Alcohol Studies

2. Alcohol Concern Fact sheet 3.
3. The 1998/99 Youth Lifestyles Survey.

MACTAC © 2007
CCLD 301
Outcome: 301.3
Case studies - Child Development 12-16 years

Case study (Drinking)

Suzi, aged 14 years, has started to go out regularly at the weekends to a local disco with a
group of friends. Initially, Suzi obeyed house rules and was back around 11.30pm. Last
weekend however, she did not appear until 1am and her parents were very worried about
her. When she arrived home she was clearly drunk and vomited over the kitchen floor. She
then started to cry and told her parents that an older boy had given her the drink and she
didn’t want to refuse, as she really liked him. Suzi thought she had been alone with the boy
at one stage and became really frightened because she could not remember what had
happened or how she had got home.

How should Suzi’s parents deal with this situation?

Case Study (Smoking)

Becky is 13 years old and is having her girlfriends for a sleep over. Her mother thinks she smells
cigarette smoke when the friends arrive but does not take too much notice of it. That night, Becky’s
mother is tidying away the girls’ coats. One of them has fallen on the floor. When she goes to pick
it up a packet of ten cigarettes falls out. Becky’s mother is shocked.

What advice would you give to her?

MACTAC © 2007