Adolescents underestimate risky behaviour

The aim of the School Health Promotion Study is to strengthen the planning and evaluation of health promotion activities at the municipality and school levels.The National Instiute of Health and Welfare takes care of the data collection and reporting.

According to the data published in 2007 smoking among both boys and girls has decreased since 2005. 14 % of 8th-and 9th-graders and 11 % of high school students smoke, whereas the smoking prevalence in 2005 was 17 % and 13 %.

Drunkenness-oriented drinking among high school-age girls continues to be less than that of boys (22%) but drinking to the extent of “really drunk” among boys has decreased 3 % in two years (32%>29%). 18 % of 8th- and 9th-graders reported drinking to the extent of “really drunk” at least once a month, boys slightly more than girls.

5 % of secondary school pupils reported having experimented with illegal drugs in 2006 and 2007. In high school the rates have dropped from 10% to 8 %. Smoking and the occasional use of soft drugs are more acceptable among youth in high school. Young people often miscalculate their alcohol and drug consumption. They usually consider it smaller than it really is. Young people are likely to underestimate the risks of intoxicant use. Health problems in the future seem very distant and the problems are associated to occur in older age.

The number of non-drinking adolescents has increased and the starting age of drinking has gradually risen. Attitudes towards drinking would seem to grow stricter when socioeconomic lifestyle differences show in alcohol use; to certain adolescents in addition to alcohol abuse, other problems occur.    

The number of adolescents who are passive in physical exercise has lessened but over a half of adolescents don’t get enough exercise. This year the results of physical exercise were for the first time compared to the existing set standards (www.ukkinstituutti.fi ).

According to the survey of 2007 daily signs of tiredness, neck and shoulder pains and headache have an undoubted connection to unfavourable habits, such as unhealthy diet, insufficient exercise, lack of sleep, smoking and alcohol consumption. It’s very typical to have many of these problems; need for intervention and giving information about healthy lifestyle are very important in guiding adolescents towards everyday well-being. Socioeconomic health differences are clear also in school health promotion studies. Read more about socioeconomic health differences in Finland: www.teroka.fi .   

21 % reported health care in schools to be lacking. Both secondary school pupils and high school students felt growingly unhappy with school health care. 39% of secondary school pupils and 44% of high school students reported experiencing it difficult to get an appointment from the school doctor.  

School health promotion study exists to gather information on the well-being, school, health and lifestyle of adolescents age 14-18. The study has been published annually since 1996. In even-numbered years the data is gathered from provinces of Southern Finland, Eastern Finland and Lapland, and in odd-numbered years from provinces of Western Finland, Oulu and Åland.

In April 2007 73 717 people from 206 communities took part in the study.  

Sources:
Kouluterveyspäivät 28.-29.8.2007. Luentomoniste.
Kouluterveys 2007 -kyselyn tulokset:   www.thl.fi
Stakesin tiedote 28.8.2007. Oppilaiden univaje ja väsymys on kodin ja koulun yhteinen haaste.
Kouluterveyslehti12.7.2007. Ovatko nuorten alkoholiasenteet muuttumassa?