By The Joseph Rowntree Foundation (August 2012)
This study examined the lives of young people who drink little or no alcohol, and found that:
- getting drunk is not an automatic rite of passage for young people;
- young people who drink little or no alcohol tend to prefer activities where drinking alcohol rarely plays a role;
- the immediate effects of drinking alcohol (e.g. hangovers) concern young people more than longer-term health effects; and
- young people believe alcohol education is based on the assumption that young people drink. They want ‘not drinking’ to be presented as a legitimate option.