Despite knowing of alcohol's harm to mental health, most people still find themselves drinking more than they planned, says a study.

The Salvation Army released the research on Monday. The study was part of the church's annual alcohol awareness campaign. It was conducted by market researcher Roy Morgan, and the random national sample included 638 Australians aged 14 and above, shared a Sydney Morning Herald report.

The research results indicated that more than 80 percent of Australians accept the truth that drinking alcohol can degrade a person's mental health. Of these people, 10 percent said that on some occasions they drink alcohol as a way of coping with anxiety or feeling down. Twenty one percent remarked that they sometimes drink more than they planned.

Glenn Whittaker of the Salvation Army stated that the research findings meant that people were becoming more educated about the effects of alcohol on mental health. He adds that even with this development, there are still a lot that has to be done on the issue of alcohol intake and abuse.

"The vast majority of Australians use alcohol responsibly," Whittaker said. "Without question a portion of Australians misuse alcohol or have issues with mental health. We want to raise awareness within the community that these two problems are too often linked."

The research also revealed that 7 percent of respondents sometimes "feel down or anxious" the day after drinking a lot of alcohol.

Whittaker expressed concern over the fact that many Australians reported drinking more than they planned even when they know the risks of heavy alcohol intake.

"To see that approximately 21 per cent (of) people ... sometimes end up drinking more alcohol than they planned to is troubling," he said.

He also said that more discussion or debate is needed about the use and abuse of alcohol in the community.

"All too often we are seeing the damage alcohol is doing to people and families ... we see huge numbers of people who have anxiety disorders, depression, schizophrenia and bipolar disorders ... too often this is linked to alcohol issues."

One of the organizations taking action on the issue of alcohol use and mental health, the Ted Noffs Foundation, provides support for youth that have become dependent on alcohol and drugs. The foundation recognizes that alcohol had far worse effects on mental health "than all the illicit drugs combined."

"We're seeing an increasing number of older children and young teenagers being admitted to hospital emergency departments for a range of challenging behaviours, including aggression and acute mental illness," stated Matt Noff, the foundation's spokesperson.

Noff added that in the past decade there has been a "worrying rise" in the number of young people with ages ranging from 14 to 18 who have alcohol problems.

The foundation revealed that the number of young people struggling with alcohol abuse has risen from 8.9 percent to 22.1 percent during the said period.