FOMO could be making teens binge-drink

Embargoed until: Publicly released: 2021-07-26 03:00

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The fear of missing out, also known as FOMO, could be influencing teens to binge-drink, according to Norwegian research which surveyed 2,646 teens from 33 middle schools in Norway. The researchers asked the teens about binge-drinking, FOMO, sensation-seeking, feelings of depression, and self-regulation, and found that 21 per cent of teens reported binge-drinking once per month, while 9 per cent reported binge-drinking more than once per month. Compared to non-binge-drinkers, both groups of binge-drinkers had higher scores for FOMO, sensations seeking, and symptoms of depression, the researchers say.