Teenagers whose biological fathers have been in jail are more likely to engage in teen substance abuse, using marijuana and other illegal drugs, according to a new study from Bowling Green University.

• Researchers went through information from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, which has been tracking thousands of teenagers from 1995 to the present.
• Over 50% of boys and 40% of girls whose fathers had been incarcerated had experimented with marijuana. This compares to 38% and 28%, respectively, of marijuana use among their peers, whose fathers had never been in jail.
• The first group also had an elevated risk for using other drugs, such as cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine.

"Long-term drug use may exasperate many other problems faced by disadvantaged youth, including mental health issues, delinquency, dropping out of school, domestic violence and poverty," said lead author Michael Roettger. "This is of particular concern within poor and minority communities where incarcerations are disproportionately located."

The study appears in the journal Addiction.
 

Labels: teen_drug_use, parental_involvement, jail, fathers

Posted By: CRC Health Group