Around seven in ten young adults who are part of generation Z report binge drinking in the past year, with almost a third regularly consuming six or more alcoholic drinks in one sitting, according to new UCL research. The report also finds that half of gen Z’s 23-year-olds have used cannabis and a third have tried harder drugs, such as cocaine, ketamine and ecstasy.
For the study, researchers from the UCL Centre for Longitudinal Studies analysed data from nearly 10,000 people born across the UK in 2000-02 who are taking part in the Millennium Cohort Study. At age 23, study participants were asked how often they used drugs and alcohol and took part in other potentially addictive behaviour such as gambling. The study’s authors compared these data with reports from the same participants when they were age 17.
Published as a briefing paper, the research shows rates of regular binge drinking among gen Z have tripled since they were in their late teens and are slightly higher than those reported by a group of millennials when they were a similar age a decade ago. The report also finds that half (49%) of gen Z’s 23-year-olds have used cannabis and a third (32%) have tried harder drugs, such as cocaine, ketamine and ecstasy.
Overall, substance use had risen significantly since participants were in their late teens. For example, the proportion of 23-year-olds who reported binge drinking at least once in the past year was 15 percentage points higher than at age 17 (68%, up from 53%). Rates of frequent binge drinking tripled in the same period, with 29% reporting they binge drank once a month or more at age 23, compared to 10% at age 17. Binge drinking was defined as consuming six or more alcoholic drinks in one sitting.
The researchers then compared the binge drinking habits of this group of gen Zers to those reported by a group of millennials, born in 1989-90, when they were age 25. They found gen Z were slightly more likely than millennials to report binge drinking once a month or more (29% v 25%). This difference was largely driven by lower rates among millennial women at this age. Among men, rates of frequent binge drinking were very similar in the two generations (31% for gen Z v 30% for millennials).