What harms do young Australians experience in alcohol-use situations?

Objective: An insight into the alcohol-related experiences of young student s in Perth, Western Australia, with particular emphasis to alcohol-related harm. Method: The sample of 2,329 students (female: n=1,089, male: n=1,240) is a school-based group selected using cluster sampling, with stratification by socioeconomic area and represents 11 to 12 year olds' experiences with alco hol and alcohol-related harm. The SHAHRP survey instrument was developed an d pm-tested to measure students' knowledge. attitudes, patterns and context of use, harms associated with the students' own alcohol consumption and ha rms associated with other people's use of alcohol and incorporates the stud ents' perceptions of alcohol-related harm. Results: Nearly two-thirds of all young people consumed alcohol under adult supervision; nearly 40% of all young males and 34% of all young females dr ink alcohol in unsupervised situations; and a fifth of young males consumed alcohol alone. Young males start drinking younger and consumed alcohol mor e regularly than young females, and consumed more alcohol per occasion. In the past 12 months, young males experienced more than five and young female s more than three alcohol-related harms associated with their own alcohol c onsumption. They experienced a similar number of harms associated with othe r people's use of alcohol. Unsupervised drinkers were nearly seven times mo re likely to experience alcohol-related harm than supervised drinkers and n early 13 times more likely to experience alcohol-related harm than non-drin kers. Conclusion and implications: The results can help inform the development of alcohol education programs for young people.