Access to the full text of this article requires a subscription or payment. Please log in or subscribe below.

Young people need health care that covers psychological, sexual, and social areas

  1. David L Bennett, head,
  2. Adrian Bauman, head
  1. Department of Adolescent Medicine, Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children, Sydney, Australia
  2. Epidemiology Unit, Liverpool Hospital, Sydney, Australia

    Papers p 263

    Risk taking among adolescents is of great concern to health professionals. Most of the morbidity among young people is related to behaviours that result in unintentional or intentional injuries, drug and alcohol misuse, tobacco use, sexual behaviour, diet, and physical inactivity.1 Mental health problems in young people are common, with an overall prevalence of around 15%.2

    Against this background, the observation in the paper by Ramrakha and colleagues (p 263) of the strong correlation between psychiatric disorders, substance misuse, and risky sexual behaviour in a birth cohort of 21 year olds is important.3 This finding has been observed previously,4 although in another study Bardone found risky sexual behaviour associated only with conduct disorders, and not with depression or anxiety, in a cohort of girls followed from ages 15 to 21.5 Many studies have reported associations between mental health and the risk of HIV infection.6

    Ramrakha et al's …

    Access to the full text of this article requires a subscription or payment

    Subscribe

    Article access

    Article access for 1 day

    Purchase this article for £20 $30 €32*

    The PDF version can be downloaded as your personal record

    * Prices do not include VAT

    Rapid responses

    THIS WEEK'S POLL

    BMJ most popular