Binge drinking among Māori secondary school students in New Zealand: associations with source, exposure and perceptions of alcohol use

Abstract

AIM: Describe factors associated with binge drinking among Maori secondary school students. METHOD: Analysis of Maori sample (n=1702) from the 2007 national youth health survey. RESULTS: Among current drinkers, 31.5% reported binge drinking (5-9 drinks) and 30.4% reported heavy binge drinking (greater than and equal to 10 drinks) in a 4-hour session in the past four weeks. Compared with non-binge drinkers, binge drinkers more frequently reported 'drinking alcohol was okay for people their age' (OR(binge) =1.9; OR(heavy binge) =2.4), p<0.0001), had friends that drank alcohol (OR(binge) =2.4; OR(heavy binge) =4.0, p<0.0001), had sourced alcohol from friends (OR(binge) =1.7; OR(heavy binge) =1.2, p=0.002) or from 'other adults' (OR(binge) =1.6; OR(heavy binge) =1.7 ; p=0.0004) and buy their own alcohol (OR(binge) =1.7; OR(heavy binge) =2.8, p<0.0001). Binge drinking was associated with poorer school performance, unsafe sex, unwanted sex, an injury, injuring someone else, motor vehicle crashes and 'doing things that could cause trouble'. Binge and heavy binge drinkers reported greater difficulty accessing drug and alcohol services (OR(binge) =2.30; OR(heavy binge) =4.97 p<0.0001). CONCLUSION: Binge drinking is associated with a range of poor health and social outcomes for Maori youth. The associated poorer access to drug and alcohol services reveals an inequity requiring priority attention.