The secret life of minors is shocking: after the survey, Lithuania has an embarrassing place

The last study showed that in our country, up to 33% do not use any protection measure during sexual intercourse. teens having sex. It is the sixth largest indicator of the 45 countries where this study is conducted.

Furthermore, we are among the record countries in terms of some indicators of alcohol prevalence among adolescents. It turns out that compared to other countries in the world, many thirteen-year-old Lithuanians have tried not only alcoholic beverages at least once, but also drunkards. It is also surprising that in some age groups, alcohol is more prevalent among girls than boys.

No less gratifying are the statistics on underage smoking. We are the second country in terms of the number of 11-year-old children who have smoked at least once in their lives and the first in terms of 13-year-old and 15-year-old children.

Lithuania is among the leaders in terms of unsafe teen sex

The HBSC mosquito health and lifestyle survey is conducted every four years in 45 countries in Europe, North America and Asia. During the research in Lithuania in 2018. 4,191 students from 64 randomly selected schools were interviewed. Before this, this study was conducted in 2014.

According to the latest research, 10% of Lithuanians have sex. Girls of 15 years (7% in 2014) and 22%. boys of the same age

Compared to other countries, teenagers in Lithuania are not very sexually active. According to this indicator, Greenland is at the top of the list (46% of girls and 31% of 15-year-olds reported having had sexual intercourse) and Bulgaria (25% and 37% respectively).

However, when analyzing the sexual life of adolescents, the researchers point out that in Lithuania there are quite significant differences between the sexes: 15-year-old boys who have had sexual relations in our country are almost twice as many as girls.

A much bigger concern is the fact that up to 33 percent. The 15-year-old Lithuanians indicated that they had not used any protective equipment during their last sexual intercourse, neither condoms nor contraceptive pills. According to this indicator, we are in sixth place on the list, only Slovakia, Croatia, Wales, Moldova and Malta are ahead of us.

58% reported using condoms during their last sexual relationship. girls and 61 percent. Lithuanian boys aged 9, 9 and 13 percent on birth control pills, respectively.

Based on these indicators, we are at the bottom of the charts, which means that in many other countries, many more teens think about safety during sex.

In Spain, for example, the majority of 15-year-olds reported using condoms in their last relationship (78% of girls and 75% of boys). Meanwhile, in the Netherlands, birth control pills are quite common among teenagers, and 70% refer to them as a precaution during recent sexual intercourse. of these fifteen-year-old girls in the country and 56 percent. Boys

The situation is called deplorable.

LSMU Kaunas Clinics Obstetrics and Gynecology Clinic Head prof. Rūta Nadišauskienė is not surprised by this situation. According to her, similar studies conducted in Lithuania have shown similar trends in adolescent sex life for several years.

According to the professor, health professionals have long known that adolescents receive basic information about sexual life and protection measures from the Internet and friends, a small number of parents, teachers or doctors. However, he notes, teens themselves make it clear in surveys that they would like to obtain such knowledge from health professionals.

According to R. Nadišauskienė, there are several reasons that determine the poor situation and irresponsible behavior of minors. Almost the main one is resistance to sex education in schools by appealing to integrity.

“As soon as that language appears, it all ends with the need to cultivate a moral education. No one opposes, all adults, both parents and non-parents, are really in favor of moral education. Every time we start talking about very specific things, about sexuality, about contraceptive protection, everything revolves around that virtue. That is why we have that situation, because we are afraid, we do not pay or we do not talk to students and adolescents about these threats both in the near future and in the future, “says the doctor.

The interlocutor emphasizes that there are non-problematic, honest and spiritual children, but it is not enough to trust it and this is demonstrated by the current situation.

“Everything is very good, all the fathers and mothers are happy, but there is another side that we, as parents, do not know.” It is bad that we do not know that it seems that we are not in contact, but that we do not know it does not mean that it does not happen.

Learning is from where. Take Estonians: Family planning consultations have been paid for by health insurance funds. But as soon as Lithuania talks about it, we are practically accused of abuse. We only suggest injecting the HPV (Human Papilloma Virus – Delphi) vaccine, she says, the girl-runner will continue to have a relationship. We see results, we look bad. And it didn’t surprise anyone here, but I’m still thinking, like we consider ourselves a cultural country, a lot of educated people, but this place is deplorable, “lamented the doctor.

Prof. R. Nadišauskienė also noted that there is still a lack of specialists in Lithuania who can provide adolescents with high-quality, fact-based knowledge about sex life.

“According to a recent study, biology teachers, who are supposed to be required to speak because they are educators, educators, speak primarily of anatomy, but when it comes to sexuality, our society does not dare to speak about it.”

Under all of our regulations, physicians cannot teach students because they have no special pedagogical education. And for those who have a special pedagogical education, they do not go out to talk about these things in an argumentative, understandable and not red way, “says the interlocutor.

We stand out for the number of 15-year-old girls who have consumed alcohol.

Speaking of unsafe sex for 15 years, prof. R. Nadišauskienė noted that alcohol often plays a minor role even during the first sexual intercourse.

“Adults are aware that alcohol, which is so prevalent among young people, is also related to the loosening of the screws that parents may have put in. This should be as important as a hygiene measure: if you have already decided that it is time to start that adult life, you should know how to protect yourself. We are always talking about two possible threats: unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases, “emphasized the doctor.

In fact, the HBSC study showed that although the number of teenagers who consume alcohol in Lithuania is decreasing slightly, we are still far behind other countries in terms of these indicators.

In the 11-year-old group, 13 percent reported having ever consumed alcohol. girls (20% in 2014) and 20%. Schoolchildren (28% in 2014) We are thirteenth on this list.

A worse situation is observed at age 13. in the group of children, 49% have ever consumed alcohol. girls and 44 percent. Boys It is notable that the number of children this age who have tried alcoholic beverages has decreased by 11%. Meanwhile, the number of girls who drank at least once remained the same. According to thirteen-year-old drinkers, Lithuania is the fifth of 45 countries, ahead of England, France, Wales and Greece.

Meanwhile, neighboring Baltic countries are more successful in treating this problem: in Latvia, 42% of people indicated that they drank alcohol at least once. 13 m. girls and 40 percent. children, in Estonia 38% and 41% respectively.

According to the HBSC study, the number of 15-year-olds who had consumed alcohol at least once also decreased in Lithuania. A steeper drop is observed among children, and researchers note a particularly marked gender gap in this age group: adolescent girls in our country are more likely to consume alcohol than boys.

The data presented shows that in Lithuania 74% drank alcohol at least once. girls in this age group (78% in 2014) and 67%. children (in 2014 it was 78%)

“Alcohol is the most common substance among 15-year-olds: almost three in five respondents have already used alcohol. By comparison, approximately one in four smokers and one in seven respondents in this age group have tried cannabis “The study said.

The study summary also notes that overall, alcohol consumption is more common worldwide among adolescents (38%) than girls (33%), but the opposite is true in several countries, including Lithuania.

“Significant differences were observed between girls and boys aged 15 who drink alcohol in only 10 countries, and only 4 of them had a higher prevalence among girls (Canada, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland),” the study said.

We polish other countries in terms of the number of teens who get drunk

During the study, the teens were also asked if they had ever been drunk. It turned out that Lithuanian teenagers are also pioneers in this regard.

Those who have experienced drunkenness at least twice in their lives reported 1 percent. Lithuanian girls aged 11 and 3 percent. boys of the same age. We are in sixth place in this age group in terms of drunk teens, followed by Bulgaria, Georgia, Albania, Armenia, Ukraine.

In the 13-year-old group, at least twice drunk reported 8 percent. girls and 9 percent. Children. It is true that the number of children who experienced binge decreased significantly for four years (in 2014, there were 16% of them in this age group). Despite the fall, we are fourth in the number of thirteen-year-old drunks.

Even worse is the situation in the 15-year-old category, where we are third in the number of drunk teens. Those who have experienced drunkenness at least twice in their lives reported 30 percent. student girls and 35 percent. Boys

The study also looked at how many teens had been intoxicated by alcohol in the past 30 days. In the past month, 1 percent said they were intoxicated. Girls age 11 and 2 percent. children of the same age, a much worse situation was recorded in other countries.

Meanwhile, in the 13 and 15-year-old age groups, there were significantly more people who drank before intoxication in the past 30 days: 5 and 8 percent, respectively. (compared to other countries, Lithuania ranks fourth) and 19 and 22 percent. (Eighth place).

The sooner you start drinking, the greater your chances of getting caught up in alcoholism.

Commenting on the data from the latest study, Linas Slušnys, a child and adolescent psychiatrist, saw several main reasons for such a high prevalence of alcohol among minors.

“My point is very clear: it is proof of how much the entire educational system is still not working, despite restrictions on sales and everything else. Alcohol is not sold to minors in any way, so they find the way to get it from other sources It is possible to philosophize but first of all of course there are still many irresponsible parents who boldly serve the same beer or wine at the age of 15-16 for a young person Parents sometimes they don’t realize that by giving and allowing such things, in the long run, they are essentially putting the child into the swamp of alcoholism. Studies show this quite clearly: the sooner a person starts drinking, the greater the chances that an adult becomes an alcoholic.

The other part is the educational system. What does this mean? It means that individual lectures on the harms of alcohol use don’t work. The system from kindergarten through the end of 12th grade must develop certain values ​​related to responsible decision making, self-awareness. So we could hope that when we come to the age of drama and judgment, there will be more situations where the child will act responsibly and be able to say “no”, L. Slušnys shared his ideas.

According to the psychiatrist, the attitude and perception of parents in Lithuania is gradually changing. L. Slušnys has no doubt that there are far fewer adults today who see nothing wrong with giving a child a taste of beer foam or a sip of wine. However, according to the interlocutor, public perceptions on the subject are changing very slowly.

“Many parents now would not dare to say how before, to lick that foam, nothing will happen. Sure, we always want faster change, but then a lot of investment is needed in public relations campaigns, millions of money must be allocated to reach the person who doesn’t read and isn’t interested in the impact. We do not do that. Have you ever seen that social advertising somewhere? Usually he throws himself, wakes up for a while, and that’s it. In most cases, those who do not have it do not even reach, but reach those who do not give their children that beer foam or that sip of wine. But there are changes. I cannot say that the situation worsens dramatically, “said L. Slušnys.

It is normal to taste when you are an adult

When asked when it is normal for a child to try alcohol, L. Slušnys said that he had come of age. The psychiatrist emphasized that parents should take a firm stance on this issue and was surprised that some people still give their children beer or cider, arguing that they will still find where to get it, someone else will buy it.

“It is normal when that child is an adult and makes a decision. As long as the adults are around, this is abnormal. Let ‘someone else’ commit a crime, here is your thing. I always tell my parents very categorically that if we go down hands saying ‘someone will give’, we can also say very quickly ‘yes, someone will give and heroin, I’d better give.’ And why don’t you give him heroin, why don’t you give him cocaine, after all, someone can file too For some reason, we consider some drugs as no, we really can’t, and when we talk about alcohol for 15-year-olds, we can say quite successfully, “yes, if not me, it is someone else.” There is simply participation in a scheme. criminal and a reluctance to put a little more effort.

Sure, the child may try to make him want to, but I show a clear position: I don’t give, I don’t agree, and you won’t until you’re an adult. And we don’t even talk about it. I can know inside that the child can try it, but my position is like that and if I follow it, there is a greater possibility that I will not try it, ”said the specialist.

However, the specialist said he had no illusions that a generation would grow up and that he would never try alcohol before the age of 18.

“We can reduce strongly, but there will be no zero”, L. Slušnys is convinced. When asked how many drinks, such as non-alcoholic beer, cider, etc., are on the shelves, the psychiatrist said, “He doesn’t see much drama,” adding that he knows of parents who allow their children to consume such children.

Many teenage smokers are nowhere else

Another problem that is widespread in Lithuania is shown in research, smoking by minors. We are second in the number of 11-year-old boys who have tried this harmful habit (8% of girls and 16% of boys), second only to Bulgaria.

We have the highest number of 13-year-old boys who have smoked at least once in their lives of all the countries surveyed and are at the top of the list in a negative way (34% of girls and 40% of boys). Lithuania also ranks first in terms of smoking among 15-year-olds (56% of girls and 59% of boys).

In the last 30 days, 3% of smokers in Lithuania reported smoking. 11 girls and 5 percent. children of the same age; In the 13-year-old group, 12 and 13 percent, respectively; In the 15-year-old group, 27 and 31 percent.

Kastytis Šmigelskas, professor at the Lithuanian University of Health Sciences (LSMU), director of this study in Lithuania, previously told BNS that the growth of smoking among 15-year-olds may have been caused by the popularity of cigarettes electronic.

“Looking at the social environment, it can be assumed that young people no longer differentiate between the use of ordinary cigarettes and electronic cigarettes. The use of these cigarettes is increasing among young people, and quite strongly in the 15-year age group. We assume that this is due to the increase in smoking electronic cigarettes ”, emphasized K. Šmigelskas.

His colleague, LSMU professor Tomas Vaičūnas, says that with the popularity of e-cigarettes and hot tobacco, the latter are chosen less often by teens because of the complicated accessibility for minors and relatively higher prices.

“At that time, vaporizer e-cigarettes, despite the existing regulation in Lithuania, can be bought quite freely, in other ways, and those methods are not necessarily illegal. For example, teens ship them from e-stores, from China or other markets where they can buy them quite easily. In this place, the control is incomplete, it is quite difficult to guarantee it, “said T. Vaičiūnas.