REBELS LIKELY TO PIERCE BODIES

A study released this month by the University of Rochester in New York
shows that teen-agers who get anything pierced beyond their ears are more
likely than their non-pierced peers to do things their parents disapprove
of. Girls with body piercings were about 2 1/2 times more likely than other
girls to have had sex, to have used marijuana in the past month and twice
as likely to have skipped school in the past year. Boys with piercings were
five times as likely to have skipped school and had similarly high risks
for smoking and drinking as girls. While body piercing is becoming more
mainstream, in a teen it still signals rebellion, says study author Dr.
Timothy Roberts. "If your adolescent wants to have a body piercing, it is a
reason to talk to them," he says.