Depression and anxiety linked to overuse of alcohol by young people
By Liz Lockhart
A new study conducted by University College Dublin (UCD) and the organisation Headstrong, suggests that 
young people who are prone to overusing alcohol are at a far greater risk of depression, anxiety or stress.
A survey was completed by around 14,000 participants - 6,000 school students aged between 12 and 19 and 8,000 young adults aged between 17 and 125.
The findings showed that:
- 38% of all participants reported harmful drinking behaviours
- 7% showed signs of alcohol dependence
- 25% of the young adult group had symptoms of severe or very severe depression
Barbara Dooley Ph.D., research director at Headstrong and a lecturer at UCD School of Psychology said ‘For young people we now see there is a link between excessive drinking and mental health.’
The researchers state that increased drinking corresponds with an increase in the severity of mental health difficulties. 27% of adolescents with possible alcohol dependency were found to have severe or very severe symptoms of depression. This compares to only 6% of adolescents who do not have a drinking problem.
The study also suggests that there is a strong link between self-harm and depression, anxiety and stress. 20% of young adults reported self-harm whilst not wanting to take their own life and over 25% who self-harmed had severe or very severe symptoms of depression.
The study also noted that 7% of young adults reported that they had attempted suicide with less than half seeking any form of help or treatment after the attempt. One third of these cases said that they found it either difficult or very difficult to get the required support. It was found that the chances of self-harming or attempting suicide were greatly reduced with the support of a trustworthy adult.
