Factors contributing to risky behaviours of adolescents treated in Warsaw hospitals

 Risky behaviours are activities, which may lead to negative health, mental and social consequences. The most frequent risky behaviours among adolescents include using psychoactive substances, participating in fights and sexual activity. The psychoactive substance most frequently used by Polish teenagers is alcohol. Most students of both middle schools as well as high schools have drunk alcohol at least once in their life. As adolescents are getting older the percentage of teenagers drinking alcohol, smoking cigarettes and marijuana is growing. This applies to both boys and girls. The European School Survey Project on Alcohol and Other Drugs (ESPAD) indicates that boys use stimulants more often than girls. However, it has been noticed that over the past few years those differences have been becoming less and less significant. Girls constitute a majority of adolescents who take medicines without a doctor’s recommendation. Poland is the first country in Europe in this respect. [...]