A recent Youth Risk Behavior Survey conducted by State University College in New York found that teens are continuing to engage in risky behavior at about the same rates as they always have.

"In 2007, we still had 72 percent of high schoolers having used alcohol, 37 percent having smoked pot and 39 percent having had sex."

The news is discouraging for some, encouraging for others. There has been a slight decline in overall substance abuse in the past decade; a decline which is credited to the increase in anti-drug campaigns across the country. Source: The Daily Star (NY)

Labels: risky_behaviors, sex, substance_abuse

A new study from the University of Buffalo found that teens who consume "energy drinks" are more likely to engage in risky behaviors such as substance abuse, unprotected sex, and violence.

Lead author Kathleen Miller, writing in the Journal of American College Health, emphasizes that her study does not prove that the drinks cause the behaviors.

About one-third of young people ages 12 to 24 regularly consume energy drinks, which often contain twice the caffeine found in a strong cup of coffee.

Labels: caffeine, risky_behaviors, substance_abuse

When he was a 10th grader, Ryan Truax spent most of his time high on various kinds of drugs. What started with marijuana and alcohol eventually evolved into ecstasy and cocaine. It was only after he'd been arrested on drug-related charges that he got serious about turning his life around.

"Truax, who will graduate from Century High School today, has now been sober for 21 months. He received a Turnaround Achievement award in May for his work to overcome issues with chemical dependency."

The turnaround wasn't easy, and included stays at two different treatment facilities. Ryan has recently started an addiction support group for teenagers and has as many as 15 kids show up to the meetings. He says that helping others overcome their addictions helps him "ensure [his] sobriety". Source: Post-Bulletin - Rochester, Minnesota

Labels: graduations, recovery, substance_abuse

Recently, the National Institute on Drug Abuse offered the first-ever Drug Facts Chat Day. Teens were invited to submit anonymous questions about anything related to drugs and alcohol. The questions were received and answered by some of the top substance abuse experts in the nation.

"[Q] What are the long term effects of smoking pot [A] There are many long-term effects of smoking marijuana. The use of marijuana can produce adverse physical, mental, emotional and behavioral changes, and, contrary to popular belief, it can be addictive. Marijuana smoke, like cigarette smoke, can harm the lungs. The use of marijuana can impair short-term memory, verbal skills, and judgment, and also distort perception..."

Other questions included, "Why is marijuana a gateway drug?," "Have most teens used marijuana in their life?," and "Can you die from weed?" Source: U.S. News and World Report

Labels: marijuana, questions, substance_abuse

A White House report being released today says teens that use marijuana regularly are at risk not only of developing a dependency but of developing a mental illness. The report summarizes information from several studies on marijuana use among teenagers.

"...using marijuana increases the risk of developing mental disorders by 40 percent, the report said. And teens who smoke pot at least once a month over a yearlong period are three times more likely to have suicidal thoughts than nonusers..."

Marijuana use among teens has decreased by 25% since 2001, which is encouraging. But the millions of kids who are still using need to know the dangers associated with it. Source: NBC25, Michigan

Labels: dependeny, marijuana, substance_abuse

Adolescence is a time of "great risk taking and opportunity" because of changes that occur in brain development, according to Dr. Jay Giedd, writing in the Journal of Adolescent Health. Changes in the brain during the teen years affect cognition, emotion, and behavior.

Dr. Giedd's study is the result of the National Institute of Mental Health's Longitudinal Brain Imagining Project, begun in 1989. About 2,000 people are undergoing brain imagining scans every two years as well as neuropsychological and behavior assessments and DNA tests. The 387 subjects ages 3 to 27 are serving as models of brain development.

Gray matter in the human brain increases in volume until the early teens, and then decreases through old age. During adolescence, brain development is a refining process, with increased connectivity and integration of disparate functions, changing reward systems and frontal/limbic balance, Dr. Giedd writes. The brain's "executive functions" increase during adolescence. Executive functions might include the regulation of emotion, response inhibition, organization, long-range planning, and the ability to pay attention.

"The teen brain is not a broken or defective adult brain," Dr. Giedd said. However, the changes and the "enormous plasticity" of the adolescent brain may make teenagers more likely to take risks and seek new sensations and experiences.

Read more about how a teen's brain development is linked to drug use in this article: "Brain's Executive Control Function Linked to Substance Abuse in Teens"

Labels: brain_chemistry, development, substance_abuse

Amanda Daniels' father struggled with substance abuse and eventually committed suicide. When she found herself pregnant at 17, she couldn't believe what her life had become.

"Now 31, Daniels is a social worker and author of 'Transparent Tears', a new book she hopes will serve to educate both troubled teens and professionals who work with them."

She shares her experiences not only as a teen, but with teens. Living in Waltham, Massachusetts, she sees many of the same issues that she saw in her hometown of Cambridge. Read more at DailyNewsTribune.com.

If your teen is struggling with substance abuse and drug addiction, visit the Teen Help Directory for help with teen drug abuse.

Labels: risky_behaviors, substance_abuse, support

The phrase "troubled teen" is most often associated with broken and underprivileged families, but for the last several years a new kind of troubled teen has been emerging from upper-middle class families. The stress of high expectations is pushing many teens over the edge.

"Twenty-two percent of girls from affluent families suffer from clinical depression, three times the national average, [Madeline] Levine said. And when [Denise] Pope researched her book, 'Doing School: How We Are Creating a Generation of Stressed-Out, Materialistic and Miseducated Students', she found that 75 percent of high school students said they had at some point cheated on a test, and 90 percent had copied homework."

While many parents push their kids academically, they simultaneously try to protect their kids from feelings of frustration, sorrow, or disappointment, which hinders the development of proper coping mechanisms in adolescents, causing them to resort to things like cutting, or substance abuse to deal with their stress. Read more at News-Service.Stanford.edu.

Labels: affluence, stress, substance_abuse