New research has been published to show that many New Zealanders are not as happy as those ‘Happiness Indices’ would have you believe (Or maybe they’re happy (hic) for another reason?).

Not only is alcohol abuse a significant cause of crime but it also goes some way to explain New Zealand’s shockingly high suicide statistics.

According to a report by Stuff.co.nz

New research shows up to a quarter of New Zealanders aged 21 to 30 have a problem with alcohol affecting their daily lives, making them more susceptible to commit crime, inflict or be victims of violence, and contemplate suicide.

The Christchurch Health and Development Study, a a 35-year study of a birth cohort of 1265 children born in the Christchurch region in mid-1977, is examining alcohol abuse in people in their 20s.

Over the last 35 years, the participants have been interviewed at regular intervals.

The new research is being welcomed by police, who say those in the age bracket are their ”biggest offenders”.

University of Otago, Christchurch researchers conducting this study found more than 5 per cent of the age group had clinical alcohol addictions.

Those people were almost nine times more likely to inflict physical violence on others, and three times more likely to commit property crimes such as burglary, car theft or vandalism.

They were three times more likely to be the victims of violence, and seven times more likely to contemplate suicide.

The group was also promiscuous. Alcohol addicts were almost 11 times more likely to have 10 or more sexual partners and twice as likely to have a sexually transmitted infection… read the rest of the article here

The Chief Coroner said he was “shocked and frustrated” by the high number of very young teens (some as young as 13) who drink themselves to death in New Zealand. But it’s just another symptom of the country’s hard drinking/binge drinking culture.

Every year there are  about 500 completed suicides in New Zealand, plus 5,000 hospitalisations.

New Zealand leads the world in the highest rates of suicide for under 36 year olds. Furthmore, Kiwi youth suffer some of the worst health outcomes in the developed world. New Zealand youth have higher rates of mental illness, suicide, teen pregnancy and suffered more injuries than young people in other OECD countries.

For more about suicide and mental health issues in New Zealand please read our Health and Death New Zealand Wiki.

Thinking about taking your young ones to New Zealand? Read Kiwi Booze Culture: It’s How We’re Drinking and our Education and Children’s Issues Wiki