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Sex fears for youths who drink and smoke
Teenagers who drink, smoke or take drugs are more likely to have had
underage sex than other adolescents.
A national report published today revealed that, among 15- year-olds, 50
per cent of girls and 42 per cent of boys who drank in the week before
the survey said they had had sexual intercourse, compared with five per
cent of girls and 11 per cent of boys who had never drunk alcohol.
The Scottish Schools Adolescent Lifestyle and Substance Use Survey (SALSUS)
also revealed youngsters who drank, smoke or took drugs were more likely
to have difficulty communicating with their parents, to have played
truant and to spend time hanging round street corners than those who did
not use such substances.
Another key finding of the report showed that, since 1998, there has
been a significant drop in the number of teenage boys who smoked,
although there has been little change in the number of girl smokers.
There has also been a steady rise in teenage drinking in both sexes.
The study showed 15-year-old smokers were much more likely to have had
underage sex than non-smokers, with 68 per cent of girls and 62 per cent
of boys reporting they had had sexual intercourse.
Teenagers who took drugs were also more likely to have had underage sex
than those who had never used drugs.
Reported drug use had changed little since 1998, with 23 per cent of
15-year-olds and eight per cent of 13-year-olds having used drugs in the
last month prior to the survey.
Cannabis was the most commonly reported illegal drug used, with very few
respondents saying they had used any other drug.
Deputy Health Minister Tom McCabe said: "The findings [of the report]
reinforce the importance of the Executive’s work with young people on
promoting good health.
"This will help focus our prevention efforts, for instance towards girls
from poorer families who are more likely to be regular smokers and to
report getting drunk. Drinking to excess, particularly in young people,
and smoking have serious health consequences.
"Action on smoking prevention and education will also form an important
element of the Executive’s Tobacco Control Acton Plan, due to be
published shortly."
The report’s findings showed that, among 15-year-olds, 24 per cent of
girls and 16 per cent boys were regular smokers. The figures for boys
represent a significant drop since 1998 when 25 per cent of 15-year-old
males smoked.
Teenage drinking had also increased since 1998, with 17 per cent of
13-year-olds and 38 per cent of 15 year olds reporting that they drank
on a regular basis.
Mr McCabe added: "Reducing harmful drinking by young people is one of
our key priorities. All local Alcohol Action Teams are addressing this."
Just over a quarter of young people surveyed said their families did not
know about their drinking, and almost half said their families did not
mind if they drank. Deputy Education Minister Euan Robson said: "Young
people need clear information about the risks associated with taking
drugs, alcohol and cigarettes.
"Through health education programmes, Scottish schools have made good
progress in making pupils aware of the dangers involved as well as
promoting positive lifestyles and encouraging young people to focus on
achieving their full potential both in school and the wider community."
The report also revealed that 33 per cent of 13-year-old smokers found
it difficult to talk to their mothers about problems, compared to 17 per
cent of non-smokers of the same age.
Among 15-year-olds, 32 per cent of smokers found it hard to discuss
problems with their parents compared to 23 per cent of non-smokers.
Full
story
China: Suicide rate crisis for rural, young
people
Qin Zhijiang, a mother whose
14-year-old son died from suicide a year ago, sobbed in agony over
losing her beloved. Her grief, stark and real, moved all the
participants of a suicide prevention workshop in Beijing in November,
2003. "It is hard for me to recover from the great grief... such grief
that has pushed me to decide to devote myself to suicide prevention in
case such tragedy reoccur in other families," she said.
In China, Qin is not the only suffering from such tragedy. Every year,
an average of 18 people out of 100,000 take their own lives.
Internationally, around 15 people out of 100,000 commit suicide,
according to World Report on Violence and Health released in 2002.
In fact, suicide has turned into one of the three leading causes of
deaths among people 15 to 34 years of age throughout the world.
In China, of the 300,000 people who commit suicide annually, more than
80 per cent are rural-based farm workers or family members, most of whom
killed themselves using deadly pesticides, Liu Denggao, a vice-director
at the Ministry of Agriculture said at a Workshop on a National Suicide
Prevention Plan for China.
What's more, the suicide death rate for women has seen a 25 per cent
higher increase than that for Chinese men.
In contrast, in western countries, the number of women taking their own
lives account for only one half to one third the number of men.
Terribly traumatic experiences, such as unfortunate marriages, domestic
conflicts and economic woes are to be blamed for many of the rural
women's suicides, especially for younger women, said Wu Xuehua, a
representative from the All China's Women Federation.
She also said her federation is going all out to help those women in
rural and remote areas to improve their living skills and establish
self-esteem. Other measures include setting up telephone hotlines and
intervention shelters, both of which provide women with access to
psychological professionals to discuss conflicts and issues. Counselors
can provide guidance and occupational training when needed, Wu said.
"A pilot monitoring system is also under way,'' said Wu. "It mainly
functions to keep close track of those at risk of suicide.''
On top of that, the Ministry of Culture has also pledged to help relieve
the current suicide rate by restricting the access to pesticides.
As a major agricultural country, China produces 450,000 to 480,000 tons
of pesticides every year and consumes up to 250,000 tons in agriculture,
ranking second in the world.
Liu said his ministry has adopted a series of measures, such as
restricting production of the most poisonous insecticides, changing the
colour and smell of poisons, packaging chemicals in small amounts, and
educating the public about appropriate uses and storage of pesticides.
All the pesticides are held and administrated by local collectives so
that agricultural workers can get access to them when they are really
needed, Liu said.
Source
Australia: Many kids show developmental
problems early
(By Holly Nott) A groundbreaking study of
4,300 Australian children has revealed more than a quarter have
developmental difficulties, with potential for life-long impact, by the
age of five. The study, used as an indicator of how well a community is
raising its children, showed major shortfalls in the care of children
during the first five years of life — a period critical to brain
development and in determining a child's life chances.
Authored by Dr Bret Hart and Sally Brinkman of Western Australia's North
Metropolitan Health Service, the study surveyed the teachers of
pre-primary students at 121 Perth schools. The results showed 26 per
cent of the target children were classified as vulnerable on the Early
Development Index (EDI), with 13 per cent at high risk.
It was based on the Canadian-developed EDI and measured five
developmental domains: social competence, emotional maturity, language
and cognitive skills, physical health and wellbeing, and communication
skills/general knowledge.
It is the first time the EDI has been used outside Canada. Leading child
health advocate and Australian of The Year, Professor Fiona Stanley AC,
today described the results as alarming.
In launching the EDI, Prof Stanley said she was most concerned
Australian children had lower averages than their Canadian counterparts
across every category.
"We've known anecdotally for some time that a lot of children are
arriving at school without the necessary skills and development to begin
their formal learning," she said.
"What this study has done is confirm our fears that we are falling
behind in this crucial area.
"Most worrying, this index is an important predictor of later problems
and could well explain the rising rates that we're seeing in a range of
indicators of child health and well-being such as behavioural and
learning difficulties, juvenile crime and mental health issues."
Prof Stanley said there was overwhelming evidence the paths children
start on during the first years of life will have life-long impacts.
"Our Australian children deserve to be given a fair chance to achieve
their potential - and the bottom line is that we know what needs to be
done, we simply haven't been committed to doing it.
"This is a wake-up call to our communities and governments. If we don't
do better for our children now, then we will all be paying the price
down the track when these children struggle in the education system and
potentially emerge unemployable." While early intervention programs
required a significant funding commitment, the costs of failing to act
were much greater, Prof Stanley said. "There's evidence that every
dollar spent on these types of early prevention programs can save seven
dollars in treatment costs down the track - it makes both economic and
social good sense," she said.
Source
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