[French youths and their health. Opinions, attitudes and behavior]

Traditional indicators for exploring the field of adolescent health have proven to be relatively inappropriate. The "Baromètre Santé" (health barometer) was thus designed to study youth between the ages of 18 and 24 in an original way. On one hand it permits the exploration of opinions, attitudes, and behaviour of French youth in a global manner, and on the other hand results may be compared with those of older generations. The study has revealed that French young people have a more pessimistic view of the evolution of their health status than their elders, with accidents being cited by far as the number one fear. The most important difference in perception between adults and young people is the attitudes concerning STD's and AIDS. As far as lifestyle goes, 27% of the young people interviewed admitted to having had troubles with insomnia during the three months preceding the interviews. Three fourths of the youth participating smoke or have smoked in the past, with no difference according to gender. On the other hand, those young people who indicated suffering from a depressive or nervous state were more often smokers than the others. More than one young person in five has tried some kind of drug during the past year, with hashish being by far the most common (99%). Overall the young people interviewed have a more permissive attitude toward drug use than adults studied. A direct link was observed between the consumption of alcohol, illicit drugs and tobacco. These multiple factors may indicate that France is facing a situation in which a part of its youth's behaviour can be considered disturbing.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)