|
While body piercing has become
common among adolescents and many parents may see the trend as a harmless
means of self-expression, new study findings suggest that teens with piercings
are more likely to smoke cigarettes, use drugs and exhibit other types
of unhealthy behavior.
Researchers presented the results
of their analysis of 1996 data on more than 4,500 adolescents aged 12
to 21. The researchers defined body piercing as piercing in a body part
other than the ear.
Both boys and girls with body
piercings were more likely to have friends that used substances such as
cigarettes, marijuana and other illicit drugs.
Body piercing was less common
in boys than in girls, with 7.1% of females and 1.6% of males having piercings.
In boys, piercing was associated with problem drinking; getting in trouble
with parents, school and friends because of drinking; and truancy.
Girls with body piercings were
more likely to have had sexual intercourse, to have smoked cigarettes
or marijuana in the last month, and to have failing grades. Pierced girls
were also more likely to have skipped school within the last year, and
to exhibit antisocial behavior such as painting graffiti, petty theft
and shoplifting.
It may be that body piercing
is a way for teens to identify with their peer group, and that peer group
tends to be higher in risk taking.
If a teen wants to get a body
piercing, a parent might want to have a discussion of why, and what other
risk behaviors they might be engaging in.
And given the behaviors associated
with piercing found in his study, the presence of body piercing should
open up a dialogue about other behaviors that the teen might be considering,
or has already tried.
Many of the behaviors adolescents
engage in aren't really visible. But body piercing, by its very nature,
is visible. So this could be a visual sign of behaviors that might otherwise
go unrecognized.
Annual
Meeting of the Society of Adolescent Medicine Boston March 2002
Related Articles:
Mouth
Jewelry Can Cause Tooth Fractures
Body
Piercing May Be Aggravating Allergies to Nickel
Incidence
of Nickel Allergy Rising with Popularity of Body Piercing
| 