During the 12 months prior to prison entry, nearly 3 in 5 (58%) prison entrants reported consuming alcohol at hazardous levels. Around one-quarter (26%) of all prison entrants were at low risk of alcohol-related harm, and 16% of prison entrants did not drink alcohol in the 12 months prior to entry to prison.
Other findings include:
- Harmful drinking generally decreased with the age of entrants. Two-thirds (66%) of entrants aged under 35 years were at risk, compared with just under half (48%) of those aged over 45 years.
- High alcohol risk was more common in Indigenous male and female prison entrants — 73% of Indigenous males and 74% of Indigenous females consumed alcohol at levels considered to place a person at risk of alcohol-related harm, compared with 50% of non-Indigenous males and 35% of non-Indigenous females (Figure 1).
- Over one-third (34%) of non-Indigenous prison entrants aged 18–44 years reported consuming seven or more alcoholic drinks on a typical day of drinking, compared with almost two-thirds (63%) of Indigenous entrants the same age.
Comparisons with the general population
Alcohol consumption was higher among Indigenous prison entrants than the general Indigenous population, in terms of both the proportion who drank alcohol and the frequency of consumption.
Consumption of alcohol four or more times per week was more common among Indigenous prison entrants than in the general population; although the difference between the two populations varied. The gap between the age groups in the different populations narrowed from the youngest to the oldest age group. In the general Indigenous population, consuming alcohol four or more times per week became more common with age, increasing from 7% in 18–24 year olds to 13% in 35–44 year olds; but this trend was not reflected in the prison population.
Average frequency of alcohol consumption during last 12 months in Indigenous prison entrants (2010) and the general Indigenous population, by age group (per cent)
| Alcohol drinking status |
Indigenous prison entrants |
|
General Indigenous population |
| 18–24 years |
25–34 years |
35–44 years |
18–24 years |
25–34 years |
35–44 years |
| 4 or more times per week |
24 |
27 |
25 |
|
7 |
10 |
13 |
| 2-3 times per week |
31 |
23 |
21 |
|
20 |
14 |
18 |
| Less than 2-3 times per week |
35 |
42 |
40 |
|
53 |
55 |
48 |
Note: Excludes New South Wales and Victoria who did not participate in the 2010 Census
Source: Entrant form, National Prisoner Health Census 2010; AIHW analysis of 2008 NATSISS
In contrast to Indigenous prison entrants who consumed alcohol more often than the general Indigenous population, non-Indigenous prison entrants were likely to drink alcohol less often than their counterparts in the general population.
However, those non-Indigenous prison entrants who did report drinking alcohol were more likely to do so at risky levels; and on an average day when drinking, they were likely to consume more alcohol than the non-Indigenous general population. These differences were more pronounced for older than younger people:
- Non-Indigenous prison entrants aged 18–24 years were slightly more likely (44%) than those in the general non-Indigenous population (39%) to consume at least seven drinks on an average day when they were drinking.
- Among those aged 25–34 years, prison entrants were more than twice as likely to report these high average levels of consumption (41% compared with 20% in the general non-Indigenous population).
- Non-Indigenous prison entrants aged 35–44 years were three times as likely as those in the general population to consume at least seven standard drinks of alcohol on an average day when they were drinking, during the previous 12 months (39% and 13%, respectively) (Figure 2).
Further information
See Chapter 4 of The health of Australia's prisoners.