Being beautiful is the way to happiness. In any case, that is an opinion that most people have. Attractive people tend to do better on the job market, earn more and have a number of other advantages in life. But now research is unraveling this impression. It turns out that a nice external appearance leads to risk-taking behavior among young people. The more attractive a young person is, the greater the chance that they party and drink more than others. – Starting to drink early increases the risk of alcohol problems later in life, says Professor Colin Peter Green at the Department of Economics at NTNU. In the study “Beauty, underage drinking, and adolescent risky behaviours”, he and colleagues from Great Britain and Germany have looked at how beauty can promote risky behavior such as drinking, smoking, drugs, unprotected sex and unwanted teenage pregnancy. This is the first study to examine the connection between appearance and risky behaviour, according to the online magazine Gemini. More about the study The data in the study is taken from Add Health (Adolescent to Adult Health), a study that has followed more than 20,000 people. The participants went through four rounds of interviews from their early teens until they became young adults. They have been asked how often and how much they have drunk during the last month, whether they have had binges, smoked tobacco or used drugs. They have also answered questions about unprotected sex and pregnancies. It is the interviewers who have indicated the informants’ appearance on a scale from 1 “very unattractive” to 5 “very attractive”. What is beautiful is then determined by the eye that sees, but the researchers thoroughly explain the scientific sustainability of this procedure. Most of the interviewers have been women. Relax your relationship with your appearance – It is possible that someone drank more just to be invited. Vilde Evjen (25) from Gravdal in Lofoten is thinking about it. She is sitting in a cafe with her friend Ronja Ernstsen Eriksen (25), who is at home on summer holiday. – I didn’t feel very attractive at secondary school. There was no great focus or pressure. I have not known that on the site either. This summer it will be six years since they left Sports Studies at secondary school. – The people we hung out with weren’t too concerned with appearance, and therefore we didn’t feel the same as many others might do. It also changes a lot depending on what society sees as pretty or attractive, says Ronja. They agree that they have always had a relaxed relationship with their own appearance and “attractiveness” – I am not sure if attractiveness is about how much one drinks or not. Many people gain a little extra self-confidence by drinking, and this leads to more confirmation through larger networks, more invitations and comments. Will nods affirmatively. – I don’t think it’s about whether you’re pretty, what kind of environment you end up in or what type of risk you take, it’s just as much about personality. Vilde Evjen has never taken big risks or had consequences she could not foresee. – There hasn’t been anything I haven’t been able to rectify or stand for. Photo: Oda Viken Well, risk-taking behavior that is cool According to Colin Peter Green at NTNU, promiscuity means a lot to what young people choose to expose themselves to. It applies to both sexes. Nevertheless, it seems that the most attractive girls have a greater tendency to drink more than their less attractive friends. – We find some evidence that these attractive young people have a problem with alcohol when they arrive at the age of 25 to 30, says Green. Fine youth also chose risky behavior that was perceived as “cool”, while they stayed away from what was seen as “uncool”, such as unwanted pregnancies and drug abuse. The reason why Green and his colleagues wanted to investigate this was that they wanted to understand more of what controls the choice of young people and to understand their drinking habits. But in the study they also looked at how popularity, self-confidence, self-respect and personality traits affect the actions of the young people. – Attractive young people who have poor self-esteem, low self-worth or come from an unstable home, have a greater tendency to drink more and engage in other bad behaviour, says Green. The study therefore concludes that building security, self-confidence and self-esteem from childhood is important to promote the health of young people and prevent unhappy life courses. Photo: Kyrre Lien / Scanpix Self-confidence is attractive Back at the cafe table at Vilde and Ronja’s, the conversation goes on. The results of the study confirm some of what the friends have noticed. – We know that some of those who were perhaps seen as very attractive at secondary school have ended up in a different type of environment today, with drug and alcohol abuse. They would like to be popular, good at school and have a good network, says Vilde. Nice looks or not, they believe that most of it is about self-confidence. – It’s about how you take the room, who you are and how you act. It is not the case that you are automatically or become attractive just based on your appearance. The two would rather meet in a café than to drink alcohol together. If the group of friends is going to meet during the holidays, they notice that more people need a quiet evening at home with good conversation rather than partying on the town. – We have grown older, we and. Before it was perhaps more about appearance, but now it is values and qualities that apply, and something else comes first. You can look whatever you want, but if you don’t feel comfortable with a person, it won’t work, says Ronja. Ronja Ernstsen Eriksen is clear that self-confidence is more attractive than anything else. She thinks less about presenting herself as attractive today than a few years ago. Photo: Oda Viken Published 29.06.2024, at 21.13
ttn-69
Study shows that beautiful people drink and party more – news Nordland
