News Item:
20 years of adolescent health in Ireland

Decline in damaging risk behaviours

• The proportion of young people who smoke fell from 28% in 1998 to just 8% in 2014.

• There has been a 25% decrease in the proportion of young people who had their first cigarette age 13 or younger.

• In 1998, one in three children reporting to have ever been drunk. In 2014 this number is down to one in five.

• We have seen a 20% decrease in the number of young people reporting their first alcoholic drink aged 13 or younger.

• The prevalence of bullying others in the last couple of months fell from 25% in 1998 to 13% in 2014.

Rise in health promoting behaviours

• Since 1998 there has been a small rise, from 18% to 23%, in the proportion of young people who eat fruit more than once a day.

• Regular toothbrushing (more than once a day) has risen from 59% to 69% of young people.

• Seatbelt use has increased. In 2014, 80% of young people said that they always use their seatbelt when in a car. In 1998 this was true for as little as 35% of young people.

Supportive social contexts

• In 1998, 73% of adolescents said they found it easy to talk to their mother about things that bother them. This had risen to 82% by 2014.

• The increase was even more pronounced with communication with fathers, climbing from 47% to 69% for the same period.

• 72% of young people reported that they liked school in 2014, compared with 68% in 1998. However, the proportion feeling pressured by schoolwork has risen from 33% to 43%.

see here for further details

item 4741
[23-02-2018 to 31-10-2018]

 

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