Depression danger for young drinkers

YOUNG PEOPLE who drink to excess are much more likely to suffer from severe depression, anxiety or stress, according to a report published today.

The survey of 14,000 teenagers and young adults found 38 per cent had problematic or harmful drinking behaviour and a further 7 per cent had signs of alcohol dependence.

Of the latter group, a quarter showed symptoms of severe or very severe depression.

Some 6,000 school-going adolescents aged 12 to 19 and 8,000 young adults aged 17 to 25 were surveyed for the study by youth mental health organisation Headstrong and psychologists at University College Dublin.

“For young people we now see there is a link between excessive drinking and mental health,” said Dr Barbara Dooley, research director at Headstrong and lecturer at UCD School of Psychology.

Among school-going adolescents the results show a steady rise in alcohol consumption from an early age. By sixth year almost half of students experienced problem drinking, hazardous drinking or possible dependence, the survey, based on a WHOscale, noted.

The study showed that increased drinking corresponded with an increase in the severity of mental health problems. There were severe or very severe depressive symptoms among 27 per cent of adolescents with possible alcohol dependency. This compared to 6 per cent of adolescents with no problem drinking.

A strong link between self-harm and depression, anxiety and stress was also identified in the report. A fifth of young adults reported self-harm without wanting to take their life. More than a quarter who self-harmed had severe or very severe depressive symptoms.

Seven per cent of young adults reported they had attempted suicide. Less than half of these had accessed help after their attempt, the study noted. Of these a third found it difficult or very difficult to get the support they needed. Support from a trustworthy adult was found to have a strong impact on reducing the likelihood of self-harm and attempted suicide.