Vaping, illegal drug use and drinking alcohol appears more common among children from better-off families compared to less advantaged households, analysis has suggested.
A greater proportion of children aged 11 to 15 from affluent backgrounds in England self-reported their experience of each than those from the least affluent backgrounds, the data showed.
The Social Mobility Commission said its analysis of NHS Digital data showed that almost a third (32%) of young people from the so-called high affluent group, had consumed alcohol in the previous month, compared to less than a fifth (19%) of those in the low affluent group.
Some 13% had vaped, compared with 10% in the least advantaged group, while almost a quarter (23%) had taken drugs compared with 17% in the low affluent group.
The authors suggested access to alcohol might be easier for children from higher socioeconomic backgrounds due to costs, but they said they do not believe this explains the wider findings, and called for further research “to explore these worrying trends”.
The report authors said the pattern “runs in the opposite direction to the one many people might expect”.
They said: “We find a reverse gradient in drinking alcohol, vaping and illegal drugs, which is to say higher levels of these activities among school children from more affluent families.”
Smoking bucked the trend, although was only slightly higher among the low affluent group, at 5% compared to 4%.
The authors acknowledged the data analysed was from 2021 when some pandemic restrictions were in place which could have affected the outcomes, and noted that the picture for more recent years is not yet known.
They said the gap regarding alcohol consumption appeared to have widened since 2014, when it was around 11% in the lower socioeconomic group and 12% in the higher group – although they cautioned the measurements of affluence have changed slightly between then and the 2021 data.
Their report, Childhood Origins of Social Mobility, also looked at young people’s wellbeing and mental health.
Analysing results of the British Household Panel Survey and Understanding Society from 1994 to 2020, the commission said children aged 11 to 15 appeared to be having more problems with self-esteem and social anxiety.
Almost one in 10 (9%) disagreed with the statement “I am a likeable person” in 2020, up from around 4% in 2010, the commission said.
Rob Wilson, deputy chair of the commission, said: “It is deeply concerning that children are drinking alcohol, taking drugs and vaping at such young ages.
“Research tells us that young people from more affluent backgrounds are more likely to use these substances than disadvantaged children, and the gap is widening.
“We don’t yet know the exact reasons for this, although our report does highlight that many young people are also experiencing anxiety and poor mental health.
“What we do know is that adults in higher socio-economic groups drink alcohol more frequently than other groups, possibly due to the cost, and this may make alcohol more accessible.
“However, we don’t feel that this explains the whole picture, and more research is needed to explore these worrying trends.”
The researchers used the Family Affluence Scale (FAS) to group children into low, medium or high according to their answers to a series of questions including whether they had their own bedroom, have travelled abroad and how many computers and tablets are in their home.
