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Netherlands National Drug Monitor - Research and Documentation ...

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Ethnic background<br />

• Among secondary school-goers with a Moroccan or Turkish background, current<br />

alcohol use is significantly lower than among native Dutch pupils (8% <strong>and</strong> 19%<br />

versus 54%). Pupils with a Surinamese or Antillean/ Aruban background occupy an<br />

intermediate position (39% <strong>and</strong> 38%) (Monshouwer et al., 2008).<br />

• The quantity taken per occasion does not, however, differ between ethnic groups<br />

(Monshouwer et al., 2008).<br />

Alcohol <strong>and</strong> problem behaviour<br />

• Pupils aged 12-16 who drink on a weekly basis exhibit more delinquent <strong>and</strong> aggressive<br />

behaviour than those who do not drink every week. There is no difference between<br />

boys <strong>and</strong> girls in this respect, but the association is stronger among the younger age<br />

groups (Verdurmen et al., 2005a).<br />

• Among juveniles of 12 <strong>and</strong> 13, weekly alcohol use is linked to somatic symptoms <strong>and</strong><br />

feelings of anxiety <strong>and</strong> depression.<br />

Parents<br />

Parents can play an important role in the education of their child regarding alcohol.<br />

• Various studies have shown that establishing rules in relation to alcohol (forbidding<br />

alcohol use) can delay alcohol onset <strong>and</strong> reduce the likelihood of problem drinking<br />

(Van der Vorst, 2007; Vet & Van den Eijnden, 2007).<br />

• However, as children get older, many parents quickly become more tolerant.<br />

- Around a quarter of parents of juveniles aged 12 to 16 allow their adolescent to<br />

drink one glass of alcohol at home.<br />

- From around age 16 on, over half of adolescents say they are allowed to drink at<br />

home (Van Dorsselaer et al., 2007).<br />

The sentinel station survey on parents sheds more light on the awareness <strong>and</strong> assumptions<br />

of parents regarding substance use by their children. This survey also creates better<br />

insight into the measures taken by parents to prevent high-risk substance use by their<br />

children (Verdurmen et al., 2008).<br />

• In 2007, parents of secondary-school children had a good idea of whether their<br />

child was sometimes drinking. However, parents typically underestimate the amount<br />

of alcohol consumed. On average, adolescents drink three times more during the<br />

weekend than their parents believe.<br />

• The number of drinks taken by adolescents at the weekend is closely linked to the<br />

drinking behaviour of their parents. The more the parents drink, then the more the<br />

children are likely to drink as well.<br />

• Virtually all parents believe that it is harmful for the under sixteens to take one or<br />

two alcoholic drinks on a daily basis (95%), or to consume five or more drinks every<br />

weekend (95%).<br />

• Over half of parents (55%) believe it is harmful for the under sixteens to drink one or<br />

two units of alcohol every weekend, <strong>and</strong> nearly half think the opposite (45%).<br />

148 <strong>Netherl<strong>and</strong>s</strong> <strong>National</strong> <strong>Drug</strong> <strong>Monitor</strong> - NDM Annual Report 2009

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