Teenagers who drink heavily are also more likely than their peers to have behavioral problems or symptoms of depression and anxiety, a new study finds.

    The study, of nearly 9,000 Norwegian teenagers, found that those who said they had been drunk more than 10 times in their lives were more likely to have attention and conduct problems in school. Meanwhile, heavy-drinking girls showed higher rates of depression and anxiety symptoms.

    The findings, published in the online journal Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health, are based on a one-time survey. They do not, therefore, show whether the drinking came before or after the teenagers' other problems.

    "We can say that mental health problems （are） closely connected to alcohol drinking and intoxication, but we cannot from these data say anything about which comes first," explained lead researcher Dr. Arve Strandheim, of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology in Trondheim.

    That said, conduct and attention problems do tend to develop early in childhood, and would be less likely to arise in adolescence, Strandheim told Reuters Health.

    But regardless of whether drinking problems or other issues come first, the bottom line is that parents should be aware that they often go hand-in-hand, according to the researcher.

    The findings are based on a survey of 8,983 13- to 19-year-olds. Eighty percent said they had tried drinking, while 57 percent had gotten drunk at least once.

    Among teens who said they had attention problems at school, roughly 43 percent had been drunk more than 10 times - versus 25 percent of those with little difficulty concentrating in class.

    Similarly, 35 percent of teenagers who acknowledged conduct problems -- getting into fights or clashing with teachers - also admitted to getting drunk frequently. That compared with roughly 27 percent of teens with few conduct problems.

    Anxiety and depression symptoms were also linked to more-frequent drinking binges, but only among girls.

    It's important to intervene early to keep all teenagers from abusing alcohol, Strandheim stressed. However, the researcher said, it may be particularly important to pay attention to girls with signs of depression or anxiety, and all teens with attention problems or behavior issues.

    一項新的研究表明，與同齡人相比，酗酒青少年更易于產生行為問題或出現抑郁和焦慮不安的癥狀，

    此項研究的對象是約九千名挪威青少年，研究發現那些表明已有的醉酒記錄不下十次的青少年在上課時更容易出現精神不集中和行為問題。同時，酗酒少女出現抑郁和焦慮不安的癥狀的幾率高于同齡少男。

    發布在兒童和青少年精神病學和心理健康的網絡日志上的這個研究結果是從以前的一次調查中得出的。因此，這一結果并沒有顯示是先有酗酒，然后出現了青少年的其他問題還是先有了青少年的其他問題，然后出現了酗酒情況。

    在特隆赫姆的挪威科技大學工作的主干研究員Arve Strandheim博士解釋'我們可以說心里健康問題與飲酒，中毒密切相關。但是從這些數據中，我們還不清楚究竟誰在誰之前".

    Strandheim告知Reuters Health,行為和注意力不集中的問題多出現在兒童早期階段，不太可能出現在青少年的身上。

    根據這個研究員的說法，不管飲酒問題或其他問題誰先誰后，最基本的是父母應該意識到他們總是密切聯系到一起。

    這一研究結果是對8983名十九歲的青少年進行調查而得出的。其中有80%的青少年說他們已經嘗試喝過酒，而其中有57%的青少年至少喝醉過一次。

    在那些說在上課時有注意力不集中問題的青少年中，約有43%的青少年喝醉過十次以上，這一數據是與25%的上課無注意力困難問題出現的青少年相比較得出的。

    同樣的，35%聲稱有行為問題（與老師打架或有沖突）的青少年也承認經常喝醉。這一數據是與約27%的無行為問題的青少年相比較得出的。

    焦慮和憂郁癥狀也與較頻繁的飲酒狂歡有關，但是這只限于少女。

    Strandheim 強調，早些介入以阻止所有的青少年飲酒過度是件很重要的事。他還說，注意少女出現憂郁和焦躁的跡象，注意少男少女出現注意力不集中和行為問題就顯得尤為重要。