Tattooing

Tattoos and Legal Deviance

Studies conducted in Europe and the United States report that permanent tattoos are strongly associated with various forms of addiction. A U.S. survey of 6,072 adolescents between the ages of 11 and 21 years explored the association between permanent tattoos and alcohol consumption. In this group, episodes of binge drinking (five or more drinks in a row) during the last year were positively associated with tattoos. Several other studies report a similar association among American college students, where tattooed individuals show an increased propensity for binge drinking. It has also been found that weekly binge drinking increases with the number of tattoos. While most studies linking tattoos with increased risk-taking behavior use self-reporting surveys to collect data, a recent study conducted in France found the same positive correlation using a real measure of alcohol consumption. In a sample of 2,970 French men and women, bar goers were asked as they left an establishment selling alcohol (bars and discothèques) whether or not they had a tattoo. Respondents were then asked to breathe into a breathalyzer to measure their alcohol consumption. It was found that participants with tattoos had consumed more alcohol.

Research also shows that people with tattoos engage in other risk-taking behaviors with specific consequences for their health. Several studies report a positive correlation between tattoos and smoking behavior, cannabis use, and sexual promiscuity. A U.S. study found that 63% of tattooed adolescents report smoking in the past month compared with only 26% of their nontattooed peers. In a French study of smoking behavior in university students (1,168 females and 1,419 males), both men and women who wore tattoos were more likely to report smoking behavior. Tattooed students report smoking more cigarettes per day and claim to have begun smoking at an earlier age than their nontattooed peers.

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