Alcohol and Young People: A descriptive analysis of changes in alcohol use in young New Zealanders from 2004 to 2009

The objective of this report is to examine the changes in alcohol use in young New Zealand men and women aged between 15 and 24 years old, and the association with socio-economic and deprivation factors, family structure and education. The report uses data from the Statistics New Zealand Survey of Family Income and Employment (SoFIE) and the SoFIE-Health sub-study, covering the period from 2002 to 2010. This report presents findings from this time period in order to provide context for understanding young peoples’ drinking behaviours, and how these have changed.