'Drink can be at the root of fighting and pregnancy'

Laura, 24, was a teenager when she became pregnant with her son Zak. She believes there is a link between violent and aggressive behaviour in young women and falling pregnant. But contrary to thefindings of the study she thinks alcohol can be the root of both problems.

Laura, 24, was a teenager when she became pregnant with her son Zak. She believes there is a link between violent and aggressive behaviour in young women and falling pregnant. But contrary to thefindings of the study she thinks alcohol can be the root of both problems.

Laura, who has lived in Great Yarmouth, Norfolk, for 12 years, said yesterday: "The type of girls who get into fights often get pregnant as well. I'm not one for fighting, I don't agree with it."

She thought the academics from the University of Virginia were wrong not to link alcohol consumption with violent and aggressive behaviour. "A lot of women use aggressive language, they swear a lot. Mainly when they're drinking, they get worse. Fights take place in the evening after the pubs have closed. It's mainly cat-fighting, pulling hair and scratching, that's what I've seen."

She believed that violence can be a reflection of problems at home. "If you're in an aggressive relationship with someone, that can cause you to be aggressive outside the home."

She said women fought less when men were present. "The fights tend to happen between individual girls in a group of friends, but I've never seenany cat fights when lads are there."

The link between a difficult home life and becoming pregnant was a clear one in Laura's mind. "If you don'tget on with your parents and you need someone to love, you find comfort in a baby," she said.

Laura believed there was a link between depression and getting pregnant, and agreed with academics who said young women seek unconditional love from a baby, but she also wanted to stress the responsibility involved.

"You can need that bit of comfort there. A lot of the young women think that happens, but looking after a baby is hard work," she said.

Laura regularly attends the town's Girls' Friendly Society group, where she has taken a GCSE in maths and a basic English skills course. "They're always there if you need someone to talk to," she said.