New research from alcohol education charity Drinkaware shows that almost three in five (58%) of all people (aged 18-75) who drink alcohol are doing so to help them cope with the pressures of everyday life.
According to the new Drinkaware/YouGov survey, which looks at adult drinking patterns in the UK, 38% of men and women who said they had drunk alcohol in the last year had done so at least some of the time to forget their problems. 47% said they had done so to cheer themselves up when in a bad mood.
41% said that they had drunk alcohol because it helps when they feel depressed or nervous, with 54% of these people having done so at increasing levels of risk.
The data also reveals that this trend is roughly equal for both men and women and is seen across all age ranges to varying degrees. However, people in lower social grades, who are more likely to be experiencing financial and housing worries[1], are drinking to forget their problems or when they are depressed or nervous, at a statistically significant higher rate.
Licensees are being encouraged to be more aware of their own use of alcohol when dealing with everyday stresses both at work and in their personal life, as well as that of their employees. The charity’s Drinkaware at Work programme of training and e-learning about alcohol could be a useful tool for operators who want to support employees who may be drinking too much.
Commenting, Drinkaware Chief Executive Elaine Hindal said:
“January can be a difficult time of year for many people and families up and down the country when day to day concerns about finances and debt come sharply into focus.
“What this thought provoking survey shows is that a worrying number of people are drinking alcohol to help them cope with the pressures of day to day life.
“Whilst people might think having a drink after a hard day can help them relax, in the long run it can contribute to feelings of depression and anxiety and make stress harder to deal with. This is because regular, heavy drinking interferes with the neurotransmitters in our brains that are needed for good mental health.
“The number of people who are drinking when they are already feeling depressed or nervous, and at levels which are harmful to both their physical and mental health is also deeply concerning.
“Regular drinking lowers levels of serotonin – the brain chemical that helps to regulate moods. This is one factor leading to symptoms of depression if people drink heavily and regularly.
“In addition, alcohol and depression can feed off each other to create a vicious cycle.
“Regularly drinking heavily may affect your relationship with your partner, family and friends, or impact on your performance at work, making life feel difficult and depressing. And after a hard day, it can be easy to believe that having a drink will help.
“Twenty first century living can be hard but using alcohol to help cope with its pressures, particularly for people who already struggling, for whatever reason, to keep their heads above water is not the solution.
“Finding ways of cutting back and of moderating alcohol consumption are simple changes that can have a significant impact on the quality of people’s lives.
“Drinkaware is here to help people make these better decisions by providing a wide range of information and support, like the Drinkaware app, which can help people to track and monitor their drinking.
“Our physical and mental health is too important to be taking risks with.”
Notes to Editors:
Drinkaware
Drinkaware is an independent UK-wide, alcohol education charity with the objective of positively changing public behaviour and the national drinking culture. It aims to reduce alcohol misuse and minimise harm by helping people make better choices about their drinking. Drinkaware has more than 100 funders, including UK alcohol producers, on-trade and off-trade retailers and wholesalers. For further information, www.drinkaware.co.uk
Research
- YouGov interviewed a representative sample of 6,174 UK adults aged 18-75 online, between 27th March and 18th April 2017. Data has been weighted to be representative of the UK adult population (aged 18-75) according to gender, age, social grade, and region.
The question asked was “The following are reasons that people sometimes give for drinking alcohol. Thinking of all the times you drink, how often would you say that you drink for the following reasons? Please tick the answer of your choice to each question.” The question is in a grid layout where the participant choses whether they drink for each of the reasons either almost never/never, some of the time, half of the time, most of the time or almost always/always. The data presented below is for respondents replying at least ‘some of the time’. The list of reasons given are:
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- Because it helps you enjoy a party
- Because it helps you when you feel depressed or nervous
- To cheer you up when you are in a bad mood
- Because you like the feeling
- To get a buzz
- Because it makes social gatherings more fun
- To fit in with a group you like
- To forget about your problems
- Because it is fun
- To be liked
- So you won’t feel left out
The questions are part of a validated tool on motivations for drinking DMQ-R SF: Kuntsche, E. & Kuntsche, S. (2009). Development and validation of the Drinking Motive Questionnaire Revised Short Form (DMQ-R SF). Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 38:6, 899-908.
[1] Joseph Rowntree Foundation report on poverty 2017:
“Poverty affects many aspects of people’s lives. Living on a low income reduces the options
available for housing, leaving some people more vulnerable to living in poor quality or
insecure homes. The social housing systems across the UK play an important part in
reducing the link between poor-quality housing and low incomes, and the proportion
of those living in poor-quality housing has fallen across the UK. However, those in the
poorest fifth of the population are still more likely to live in poor-quality, overcrowded
and insecure housing than better-off families.
Poverty is also closely linked to health. The stress of struggling to make ends meet affects
both physical and mental health.”
Joseph Rowntree Foundation (2017) UK Poverty 2017: a comprehensive analysis of poverty trends and figures, JRF: York. Available at: https://www.jrf.org.uk/report/uk-poverty-2017
Issued on behalf of: Drinkaware
By: ShielPorter Communications
For further information: Ros Shiel: ros@shielporter.com or 07841 694137
John Porter: john@shielporter.com or 07734 054389