« Previous | Contents | Next »
Listen
The Scottish Social Attitudes ( SSA) survey was launched by the Scottish Centre for Social Research in 1999 to inform public policy and to facilitate the study of public opinion. This report summarises the key findings from a module in the 2007 survey, exploring attitudes to drinking and the role of alcohol in Scottish culture. The module was funded by the Scottish Government Alcohol Misuse Team and is intended to provide a robust baseline of evidence on attitudes towards alcohol against which progress in attempts to change Scotland's 'drinking culture' can be measured in future years.
Main Findings
- Many people (67%) believe that 'drinking is a major part of the Scottish way of life'.
- At the same time, nearly half (48%) see the amount of alcohol people in Scotland drink as something we should all be ashamed of.
- Alcohol is the legal or illegal drug most commonly seen as causing most problems for Scotland as a whole. 51% say alcohol is the drug which causes most problems for Scotland, compared with 22% who say heroin and 9% who say tobacco.
- A quarter (26%) agree that 'adults in other parts of the UK tend to drink alcohol more sensibly than adults in Scotland', but more (47%) disagree.
- Many people believe that individuals with drinking problems have only themselves to blame - 47% agree that this is the case, with 31% disagreeing.
- Although 81% agree that it is possible to enjoy a night out in the pub without drinking alcohol, 39% still think it is, in general, easier to enjoy social events if you have had a drink.
- People express different attitudes about different types of alcohol misuse. For example, while 94% believe that a 'chronic' drinker is 'very likely' to damage their health if their behaviour continues long-term, this falls to 47% with respect to a 'binge' drinker and just 35% for a 'hazardous' drinker (i.e. someone who drinks above recommended weekly limits).
- Young people hold more 'permissive' attitudes towards 'binge drinking' and 'getting drunk', although 30-39 year-olds also appear to express less concern than older age groups about 'hazardous' drinking.
- Levels of awareness of both the term 'unit' and the existence of government advice not to drink more than a certain number of units of alcohol a day are very high (95% and 93% respectively).
- However, levels of knowledge of the actual alcohol content of specific drinks and the actual recommended daily unit limits are much lower.
- Just 41% correctly identify the recommended daily limit for women, falling to 34% for men.
- 4 in 10 underestimate the unit content of a normal bottle of wine, with a further 4 in 10 unable to say how many units there are in a bottle.
Introduction
This summary presents key findings from the 2007 Scottish Social Attitudes survey report on attitudes to alcohol. It addresses the following key questions:
- What are public attitudes towards the role of alcohol in Scottish culture?
- What are public perceptions of the harm caused by different patterns of drinking?
- How well informed are the Scottish public about safe drinking limits and the alcohol content of different drinks?
Perceptions of the role of alcohol in Scottish Culture
Alcohol is widely viewed as something that is both a big part of Scottish culture and something that causes problems for Scotland. Two-thirds (67%) agree that 'drinking is a major part of the Scottish way of life', while at the same time alcohol is the drug most commonly chosen as causing problems for Scotland as a whole. Further, almost half (48%) think that the amount of alcohol people in Scotland drink is something everyone should be ashamed of. However, there is no consensus on whether Scotland's 'drinking culture' marks it out from its UK neighbours - 26% agree that 'adults in other parts of the UK tend to drink alcohol more sensibly than adults in Scotland', but more (47%) disagree.
Although alcohol is seen as creating problems for wider Scottish society, this does not necessarily translate into a sense of shared social responsibility as far as individuals with drink problems are concerned - 47% believe that most people with serious drink problems have only themselves to blame, while just 31% disagree. However, over half (53%) agree that they would feel partly responsible if a friend they were with got drunk and ended up in trouble.
The role of alcohol as a 'social lubricant' is highlighted by the finding that although 8 in 10 (81%) believe it is possible to enjoy a night out in the pub without drinking, 4 in 10 (39%) still think that it is 'easier to enjoy a social event if you've had a drink'. This view is more common among men than women (49% compared with 31%). Moreover, although most people (74%) disagree that they would find it strange if someone who normally drank refused a drink on a particular occasion, concerns about the social acceptability of choosing not to drink are still apparent in the finding that 31% of drinkers agree that a lot of people they know would think it odd if they did not drink at all.
The public is divided over whether increasing the price of alcohol to discourage excessive drinking is a good idea - a third (33%) agree, while 46% disagree.
Attitudes towards different kinds of alcohol misuse
The survey used scenarios to explore respondents' attitudes towards three hypothetical drinkers, whose behaviours reflect patterns associated with 'chronic', 'binge' and 'hazardous' drinking respectively. These terms are used as follows:
- 'Chronic' drinking describes drinking at levels that are already having a negative impact on physical and psychological health.
- 'Binge' drinking refers to heavy bouts of drinking to get drunk (in a public place), punctuated by periods without drinking.
- 'Hazardous' drinking describes someone who regularly drinks at over both recommended daily and weekly unit limits, but below levels where the impacts on health, social and family life are more likely to be immediately obvious (as with 'chronic' drinking).
There is clear variation in how problematic different patterns of drinking are seen to be. For example, while 99% view the 'chronic' drinker as having a 'very' or 'fairly' serious problem, this falls to 80% for the 'binge' drinker and 71% for the 'hazardous' drinker. Similar patterns are apparent with respect to beliefs about how likely different drinking patterns are to seriously damage health if continued in the long-term.
Although 'chronic' drinking is viewed most seriously in terms of likely health impacts, slightly fewer people agree that 'chronic' drinkers should be embarrassed about their behaviour than say the same of 'binge' drinkers (56%, compared with 60%). This may reflect a tendency among some people to view 'chronic' drinking within a 'medical model' of alcohol misuse, whereby it is an illness over which the drinker may have limited control. Even fewer people think the 'hazardous' drinker should feel embarrassed about their behaviour - just 38%.
The notion that 'chronic' drinking is more likely to be viewed in a 'medical' model is reinforced by the fact that 49% of people think that a 'chronic' drinker who wants help should seek this from a doctor in the first instance, compared with 36% and 29% for the 'hazardous' and 'binge' drinker respectively. Family and friends are viewed as the most appropriate source of support for 'binge' drinkers (32%), and are also a popular choice for 'hazardous' drinkers (29%).
Respondents were also asked about their views on 'getting drunk' at weekends and among people their age in general. While relatively few people agree that 'getting drunk is a perfectly acceptable thing to do at weekends' (15%) or that 'there's nothing wrong with people my age getting drunk regularly' (10%), a significant minority say they 'neither agree nor disagree' with these statements. This may suggest that for some people attitudes towards the acceptability of getting drunk are not fixed and may vary depending on context. Alternatively, it may indicate that some people are unwilling to admit that they do not see a particular problem with getting drunk.
Attitudes towards different kinds of alcohol misuse vary particularly by age. Young people hold more 'permissive' attitudes towards getting drunk and 'binge' drinking - for example, only 36% of 18-29 year-olds compared with 51% of 30-39 year-olds believe the 'binge' drinker should be embarrassed about their behaviour. However, with respect to 'hazardous' drinking the views of 30-39 year-olds are also more permissive than those of people aged over 40.
There is some evidence that women are slightly more concerned than men about the health impacts of 'hazardous' drinking - 89% of women compared with 80% of men think this kind of drinking is 'very' or 'fairly likely' to damage health if continued long-term.
Attitudes towards 'binge' drinking also appear to vary depending on the gender of the drinker, with some indication that women who drink in this way attract more concern than their male counterparts. For example, 34% say a hypothetical female 'binge' drinker has a 'very serious' problem, compared with 26% who say the same of a hypothetical male 'binge' drinker.
Knowledge and awareness of alcohol content and sensible drinking guidelines
Awareness of the term 'unit' is very high - 95% have heard of measuring alcohol in this way. Moreover, only 7% say they have not heard of government advice not to drink more than a certain number of units a day. However, this awareness does not necessarily translate into more detailed knowledge of either the alcohol content of specific drinks or the actual daily limits suggested in government guidance.
Although around half are able to correctly identify the number of units in a pint of normal strength beer or a single pub measure of spirits, around a third are unable to do so either because they simply do not know or because they have never heard of measuring alcohol in units. Knowledge of the unit content of wine appears even worse - only 15% are able to correctly identify that there are 8 to 10 units in a bottle of normal strength wine 1, with 4 in 10 underestimating it as 7 units or fewer and a further 4 in 10 unable to give an answer.
Knowledge of the recommended daily limits for men and women is also patchy - only 41% correctly identify the recommended limit for women as 2 to 3 units, falling to 34% who correctly identify that men are advised to drink no more than 3 to 4 units.
Those in both the youngest and the oldest age categories are the least likely to correctly identify either the number of units in different drinks or the recommended daily limits. Knowledge of unit content and recommended limits is better among high income groups and those in managerial and professional occupations compared to those on low incomes and in routine and semi-routine jobs. For example, 76% of those with incomes of £38,000 or more correctly identify the number of units in a pint of beer as 2 or 3, compared with only 34% of those on incomes under £10,000.
Policy implications
Many of the findings from this survey suggest that problematic attitudes towards alcohol are widespread and are not simply confined to a small minority of young or chronic drinkers. This suggests that a wider, 'whole population' approach may be required if attempts to shift Scotland's 'drinking culture' are to be successful.
The survey also highlights that 'hazardous' drinking is viewed as much less serious than other kinds of alcohol misuse. Raising awareness of the potential health impacts of this kind of drinking may be an area for future policy action.
Finally, findings on knowledge of sensible drinking guidelines and the unit content of different drinks highlight the need to continue to raise awareness of both to enable people to make informed choices about their drinking.
Methodology
The Scottish Social Attitudes survey involves c. 1,500 interviews annually, with respondents selected using random probability sampling to ensure that the results are robust and representative of the Scottish population. The 2007 survey, which was conducted between May and early November 2007, involved face-to-face interviews and a self-completion questionnaire.
This document, along with "Scottish Social Attitudes Survey 2007: Something to be ashamed of or part of our way of life? Attitudes towards alcohol in Scotland" the full research report of the project and further information about social and policy research commissioned and published on behalf of the Scottish Government, can viewed on the Social Research website at: www.scotland.gov.uk/socialresearch. If you have any further queries about social research, please contact us at socialresearch@scotland.gsi.gov.uk or telephone 0131 244 7560.
« Previous | Contents | Next »