Teenage girls in B.C. are more likely than their male counterparts to drink heavily and regularly, according to a study by the McCreary Centre Society.
Despite recommendations for females to drink less alcohol than males, girls were also likely to keep up with boys at a similar pace.
Most girls report drinking alcohol to have fun, because their friends were doing it, because of stress or because they felt sad or down.
For Executive Director of McCreary Annie Smith, the findings are troubling.
“We have seen girls reporting poorer mental health than boys in a number of our studies and the data again shows that girls are more likely than boys to report drinking because they feel sad or stressed,” Smith said in a statement.
“Hopefully we can use this information to start a conversation with girls about healthier ways to manage these emotions.”
Troublingly, youth who drank heavily were at greater risk of serious injuries or getting a concussion.
The report is based on 30,000 responses from students in grades 7 to 12 in 56 school districts across the province. Among those surveyed, teenage students in Vancouver had the lowest drinking rates at 33 per cent, while North East B.C. had the highest at 60 per cent.
To read the full report, click here.
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