Are schools and alcohol a good mix? A qualitative study of school principals’ experiences of adults’ alcohol use in Australian secondary schools

Objective: Parents, schools and the broader community influence children’s socialisation to alcohol. In Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States there have been media reports of adults consuming alcohol at family focused school events such as fairs and graduations. The aim of this qualitative study was to describe school principals’ experiences of adults’ use of alcohol at school events, when children are present. Design/setting/participants: A qualitative descriptive study was undertaken. Publicly available lists were used to invite sixty principals from government and Catholic secondary schools in Victoria, Australia. In-depth interviews were conducted and analysed thematically and reported using the Consolidated Criteria for Reporting Qualitative Research guidelines. Results: Fourteen principals (five female, nine male) participated. Most (10) of the participating principals reported adults’ use of alcohol at events when students were present. Regarding these events, most principals reported concerns regarding potential harms and responsibility for decision making about alcohol availability in schools. Some (4) principals believed alcohol should not be present at such events and this was their practice. Half of the participating schools had recently made changes to reduce the availability or management of alcohol at school functions. Conclusions: The findings confirm the common use of alcohol by adults at school events, the challenges this poses for school principals and suggests consideration needs to be given to identifying strategies for supporting schools and school principals in decision-making regarding the conduct of such events

Effects on alcohol consumption of announcing and implementing revised UK low-risk drinking guidelines : findings from an interrupted time series analysis

Background: In January 2016, the UK announced and began implementing revised guidelines for low-risk drinking of 14 units (112 g) per week for men and women. This was a reduction from the previous guidelines for men of 3–4 units (24–32 g) per day. There was no large-scale promotion of the revised guidelines beyond the initial media announcement. This paper evaluates the effect of announcing the revised guidelines on alcohol consumption among adults in England. Methods: Data come from a monthly repeat cross-sectional survey of approximately 1700 adults living in private households in England collected between March 2014 and October 2017. The primary outcomes are change in level and time trend of participants’ Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test—Consumption (AUDIT-C) scores. Results: In December 2015, the modelled average AUDIT-C score was 2.719 out of 12 and was decreasing by 0.003 each month. After January 2016, AUDIT-C scores increased immediately but non-significantly to 2.720 (β=0.001, CI −0.079 to 0.099) and the trend changed significantly such that scores subsequently increased by 0.005 each month (β=0.008, CI 0.001 to 0.015), equivalent to 0.5% of the population increasing their AUDIT-C score by 1 point each month. Secondary analyses indicated the change in trend began 7 months before the guideline announcement and that AUDIT-C scores reduced significantly but temporarily for 4 months after the announcement (β=−0.087, CI −0.167 to 0.007). Conclusions: Announcing new UK drinking guidelines did not lead to a substantial or sustained reduction in drinking or a downturn in the long-term trend in alcohol consumption, but there was evidence of a temporary reduction in consumption

Characteristics of individuals presenting to treatment for primary alcohol problems versus other drug problems in the Australian patient pathways study

Background: People seeking treatment for substance use disorders often have additional health and social issues. Although individuals presenting with alcohol as the primary drug of concern (PDOC) account for nearly half of all treatment episodes to the Australian alcohol and other drug (AOD) service system, previous treatment cohort studies have focused only on the profile of Australian heroin or methamphetamine users. While studies overseas indicate that clients seeking treatment primarily for their drinking are less likely to experience social and economic marginalisation than those seeking treatment primarily for illicit or pharmaceutical drug use, very little research has directly compared individuals presenting with alcohol as the PDOC to those primarily presenting with other drugs as their PDOC. Methods: Seven hundred and ninety-six participants were recruited at entry to specialist AOD treatment in Victoria and Western Australia, and completed measures of demographic and social factors, substance use, quality of life, service use, and criminal justice involvement. We compared those with alcohol as their PDOC to those with other drugs as their PDOC using Pearson chi-square and Mann–Whitney U tests. Results: Rates of social disadvantage, poor quality of life, high severity of substance dependence, and past-year AOD, mental health, acute health, and social service use were high in all groups. However, participants with alcohol as the PDOC were older; more likely to have an educational qualification; less likely to report criminal justice involvement, housing/homelessness service use, tobacco smoking, or problems with multiple substances; and reported better environmental quality of life; but were more likely to have used ambulance services, than those with other drugs as their PDOC. Conclusions: While those seeking treatment primarily for alcohol problems appear less likely to suffer some forms of social and economic disadvantage or to use multiple substances than those with a primary drug problem, they experience similarly high levels of substance dependence severity and mental health and AOD service use. These findings reinforce the need for AOD services to integrate or coordinate care with programs that address the many complexities clients frequently present with, while also acknowledging differences between those seeking treatment for alcohol versus other drug problems