Signs Of Trouble?

TATTOOS, BODY PIERCINGS OFTEN PREDICT RISKY BEHAVIORS

Tattoos and body piercings have become so common they seem almost innocuous
- -- even pop star Britney Spears, an idol to millions of preteens, has a
navel ring.

But by shrugging off such adornments, parents might be doing their kids a
disservice, experts say.

Young people who sport tattoos or have their noses, tongues, eyebrows or
bellybuttons pierced are more likely to have sex, smoke cigarettes or
marijuana, use drugs, binge drink, skip school, get into fights and get
poor grades, according to a study in the June issue of Pediatrics.

"They're a marker that these kids are prone to risky behaviors," said
Elizabeth B. Myhre, one of the study co-authors. "While there's nothing
inherently wrong with body piercing or tattoos, they are a wake-up call to
parents and physicians that there might be something else going on with
these teens."

Researchers at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego surveyed 484 young
people, ranging in age from 12 to 22, and found that 13.2 percent had
tattoos and 26.9 percent had body piercings.

Of the females, 16.6 percent had tattoos and 36.7 percent had body
piercings; of the males, 8.1 percent had tattoos and 10.1 percent had body
piercings.

Compared with their unadorned counterparts, adolescents and young adults
with tattoos or body piercings were twice as likely to engage in sexual
activity and use "gateway" drugs, such as marijuana, alcohol and
cigarettes, the researchers found, and they were three times as likely to
use hard drugs, such as Ecstasy, cocaine and methamphetamine.

Males with tattoos were more likely to engage in violent behavior, and
females with body piercings were twice as likely to get into fights. Also,
girls and young women with tattoos or body piercings had a higher incidence
of eating disorders and thought more about suicide. The younger both
genders were when they got their body art, the more likely they were to be
involved with gateway drugs.

Since most adolescents with these adornments are older than 17, however,
the tattoos and piercings could be a sign that young people are already in
trouble.

"It's probably not the first risky thing they've done," said Dr. Victoria
Paterno, a pediatrician in Santa Monica, Calif. "... If you haven't picked
up on other cues earlier, then you're probably pretty clueless as a parent."