 Teens at risk: Drinking and bullyingMillions of adolescents in some of the wealthiest countries in the world are seriously affected by alcohol abuse and bullying—behaviours that compromise their health and limit their chances to become successful adults. Both alcohol abuse and bullying, found at high levels in a number of industrialized countries, according to a WHO youth health survey, are associated with alienation from school and home, as well as low academic achievement. Boys are at higher risk than girls. In the countries surveyed, the highest levels of alcohol abuse among both boys and girls are found in Denmark. Danish girls have the highest levels of all: 67%. Denmark is the only country where girls have a higher rate of alcohol abuse than boys. In 14 countries or regions within countries where 15-year-olds were asked about their experience with alcohol, more than one third of boys reported being drunk two or more times. Teens who misuse alcohol are more likely to develop health problems and die prematurely. While the increased risk is partly the result of the direct effects of excessive alcohol consumption—liver disease, depression, road accidents—it is also due to the link between drinking and other high-risk behaviours, such as smoking and violence. Bullying—which includes physical contact or verbal abuse—is also associated with such high-risk behaviours as drinking to excess and smoking. The variation in the amount of bullying occurring among 15-year-olds is striking. Germany has the highest rates: 86% of boys and 72% of girls reported bullying others at least once in the past school term. In Wales, the rates dropped to 28% of boys and 13% of girls. More than half of boys and girls in Austria, Belgium (Wallonia), Denmark and Lithuania reported engaging in bullying. The behaviour, however, is considerably less frequent among girls than boys.
*France, Germany and the Russian Fed. are
represented only by areas. |