28-04-2025
More than 40% of 25-year-old Irish men drink 'hazardous levels' of alcohol
More than two fifths of 25-year-old Irish men and a third of 25-year-old women drink to what the World Health Organization (WHO) considers to be "hazardous levels".
Those are just some of the findings included in a CSO report on the wellbeing and relationships of people aged 25 in Ireland.
Among 25-year-old men educated to degree level or higher, this level of hazardous alcohol consumption rose from 44% to 51%.
The report, which forms part of the CSO's wider Growing Up in Ireland series, asked 25-year-old participants how they feel about their physical and mental health, family, friends, and relationships.
The series itself follows the lives of thousands of people born in Ireland in the year 1998. These individuals have been interviewed by the CSO at regular intervals since 2007, on each occasion providing insights into the issues they face, what is important to them, and their hopes for the future.
'Services for young people'
The data collected in this longitudinal study, the CSO says, will be used to help "local, national, and European policymakers formulate decisions about services for young people and their families".
On the topic of general health, the latest CSO report found that most people aged 25 believed themselves to be in excellent (22.7%) or very good (42%) health at the time of the survey.
Some two thirds of men reported they had done at least 30 minutes of vigorous exercise in the week before completing the survey, compared to just under half of women.
In the area of mental health, 25% of respondents said they had been diagnosed with depression or anxiety by a medical professional.
More than three in 10 women reported a depression or anxiety diagnosis, compared with less than two in 10 men.
This gap between the sexes was also evident in terms of self-esteem, with 23.5% of women aged 25 reporting low self-esteem. This is compared to 18% of men of the same aged.
Stress
Asked about stress, nearly 22% of women reported moderate or higher levels of stress in their lives — compared with 15% of men who reported the same levels.
Asked about their families and friendships, and who they could confide in with issues and feelings, both men and women said they would go to a friend, a partner, or their mother with personal issues.
Most of the group said they would consider some of their friends close friends. However, nearly 6% of respondents said they had no close friends.
Finally, asked to give their overall life satisfaction a score from one to 10, the average total among the group was 6.5.
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