How much alcohol is too much? A new study of British teenagers and university students suggests they don’t have a clue.
The study, published in the journal Drug and Alcohol Review, revealed surveys of more than 400 secondary school and college students found most underestimate the effects of alcohol and “don’t have the skills” to adhere to government guidelines for responsible drinking.
Researchers, led by Dr. Richard de Visser of the University of Sussex, polled 309 secondary school and 125 university students about their alcohol consumption. The students also completed tasks in which they poured their "usual" drinks and were asked about government guidelines for maximum "unit" consumption on a daily and weekly basis.
Most respondents “lacked the knowledge and skills required to drink in accordance with government guidelines,” researchers reported. Participants' “usual” drinks were substantially larger than one unit, and participants tended to underestimate the unit content of drinks.”
"Our results mean that people's reports of drinking patterns in research may lead to inaccurate estimates of the health effects of different levels of alcohol use," de Visser noted. "There may be a need for more and/or different alcohol education in schools and the media."