A study by staff at Heriot-Watt University in Edinburgh looked at 4,427 people aged between 10 and 15 across the UK and asked about their health-related activities and levels of happiness.
One in five said they were unhappy with the place they lived – or other aspects of their lives, including relationships with family and friends, school and personal appearance – and this had led them to take up smoking or drinking.
Altogether, 297 (seven per cent) were classi?ed as having an abnormal mental state while 490 (11.2 per cent) were “borderline”.
Dr Ivy Shiue, assistant professor of environmental health at Heriot-Watt, said the research indicated that many children and young people continued to resort to behaviours that damage their health in an attempt to cope with their dissatisfaction.
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