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People with tattoos and piercings are more prone to alcoholism

 
, medical expert
Last reviewed: 01.07.2025
 
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18 April 2012, 08:48

Psychologists have found that people with tattoos and ear rings are more prone to alcoholism.

A group of French psychologists from the Institute of Southern Brittany decided to check whether there was any connection between tattoos, piercings and predisposition to drinking. To achieve the desired result, over the course of several Saturday evenings, the researchers went to bars and nightclubs and asked people leaving them whether they had tattoos or piercings. The level of alcohol in the blood of the subjects was measured using an alcohol-respiratory tube. More than 1,700 representatives of the stronger sex and 1,200 young ladies took part in the work.

It turns out that tattoo and piercing wearers are more likely to drink alcohol. The researchers plan to publish their findings in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research.

However, the work is notable not so much for the results obtained, but for a considerable number of clarifications. Other researchers show in this regard that tattoos and piercings are famous mainly among a certain age category, from 13 to 18 years old and from 18 to 25 years old. This age, as they say, is considered "risky" (teenagers are drawn to adventures), and here it would be much better to associate both tattoos and love for alcoholic parties with an age putsch. Earlier studies demonstrated the predisposition of tattoo and piercing owners to "abnormal behavior", and the obtained results only give this more specificity. In fact, it would be surprising to assume a hidden mystical relationship between tattoos and alcoholism. It is unlikely that events develop in such a way that an ordinary person suddenly decides to get a piercing, and then begins to row in bars and nightclubs.

If you look at it from another angle, you should remember that the teenage desire to stand out is not the only reason to get a tattoo; some, for example, get piercings for religious reasons. Finally, you should distinguish, so to speak, the intensity of the passion for tattoos: in 2009, scientists from the USA thought about a similar problem and checked that those who have only one tattoo do not behave differently from ordinary people. Serious behavioral problems begin with the extension of piercings and tattoos.

Well, and finally, it is worth mentioning that in the eyes of ordinary people, a person with a piercing or a tattoo, as before, does not inspire confidence. Undoubtedly, this superstition is not completely empty: data from psychologists confirms studies by parents, medical workers and teachers that piercings and tattoos usually declare a love for alcoholic cocktails, and maybe something stronger. In other words, doctors and psychologists, seeing a ring in the ear, now have every right to start a conversation about the dangers of alcoholism. What then to do with women who evaluate piercing as a kind of accessory, like a stylish bracelet? It is unlikely that they think about any other adventures, except for amorous ones

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