According to the new report from INSEE, the episodes of drunkenness have increased since 2005. Thus, more than one in two 17-year-old girls declares having already been drunk during the year.
INSEE published on Thursday 14 November the 2013 version of its study ” France, Social portrait In which the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies takes stock of the health, education, wealth and employment of the French. Among the various themes addressed, that of youth health is particularly striking. As Muriel Moisy explains, who has studied the issue of young people’s health, if “most [des enfants] declare themselves in good health and fairly well informed in terms of prevention, “the initiation rite of adolescence leads to risky behaviors:” Addictions, eating disorders, dangerous driving, these behaviors do not necessarily expose young people to a risk of immediate death but can have repercussions on their health, from social marginalization to increased risks of illness and mental disorders in adulthood, ”explains the doctor in demography.
Marked drunkenness in young girls
Among the most worrying developments: alcohol consumption. The INSEE study shows that 54% of CM2 students have already consumed alcohol. Experimentation is even almost generalized (91%) for both sexes at 17 years old. As the study explains, “Drunkenness episodes have increased since 2005, especially among young girls. At 17 years old, more than one in two declares to have already been drunk in 2011 ”. While regular alcohol consumption is on the rise (from 8.9% in 2008 to 10.5% in 2011), “the ratio of young people to alcohol consumption is very specific, with a rather occasional consumption pattern, Explains the study. Thus 77% of 17 year olds drank alcohol during the month, but only 0.9% on a daily basis. However, warns the study, “although occasional, the consumption of alcohol by young people remains nonetheless dangerous, in the form of hyper-alcoholization over a very short period of time (” binge drinking “)” which seems have become a rite of passage for many adolescents.
Alcohol consumption: what are the risks for young people?
As the INPES explains, in a 2008 study, early alcohol consumption carries many risks. First of all the risks linked to the immediate effects of the product: “Alcohol indeed causes disinhibition, a decrease in self-control, an alteration of reflexes and vigilance, a disturbance of vision, poor coordination of movements. , drowsiness, etc. The resulting risks are “road or domestic accidents, violence – inflicted or suffered -, unwanted or unprotected sex.” “In addition, INPES recalls that” the ingestion of very high doses can lead to ethyl coma, the outcome of which may, for lack of treatment, be fatal. “
But drinking alcohol during adolescence also comes with delayed risks. Thus, “alcohol has a deleterious effect on the development of certain brain regions which do not complete their maturation until the end of adolescence; the earlier alcohol consumption begins, the greater the damage. Finally, an early initiation to alcohol and excessive consumption in adolescence are risk factors for problematic later use. “
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