A study involving about 13,000 teenagers has revealed that male high school athletes are more likely to become binge drinkers and to get into physical fights.

The researchers also found that boys in team sports are less likely to be depressed or to smoke cigarettes. Female athletes were less likely to smoke or use marijuana.

This study was presented at the annual meeting of the American Public Health Association.

Labels: binge drinking, depression, athletics

Posted By: Staff Writer 0 Comments

Teens who smoke marijuana may be self-medicating for legitimate medical conditions such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, insomnia, and anxiety, according to a new study from the University of British Columbia.

• Dr. Joan Bortoff and her colleagues surveyed 63 adolescents who reported having smoked marijuana on a daily basis.
• About a third of the adolescents who were surveyed said they had stopped taking prescription drugs such as Ritalin and Prozac for various conditions and substituted marijuana instead.
• Marijuana was immediately effective in relieving anxiety and other conditions, and did not cause as many side effects as their prescription drugs.

"They did not like how these drugs made them feel or found them ineffective," Dr. Bortoff said. "For these kids, the purpose of smoking marijuana was not specifically about getting high or stoned."

This study appeared in the journal Substance Abuse, Treatment, Prevention & Policy.

Labels: teen_drug_use, marijuana, adhd, anxiety, medications

Posted By: Contributor 0 Comments

Americans of all ethnic groups increased their intake of alcoholic beverages since the 1990s, according to a new study from the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center.

Dr. Raul Caetano and his colleagues reported an increase in the percentage of Hispanics, African Americans, and Caucasians who drink between 1992 and 2002. However, the only demographic that increased the number of drinks consumed per person during that decade was Caucasian women.

Caucasians were more likely to be binge drinkers, a term which refers to people who consume five or more drinks during one sitting. Males under 60 years old without college degrees were most likely to drink than other demographics. Being unmarried and unemployed added to the likelihood that they were drinkers.

Dr. Caetano's team went through data from the National Longitudinal Alcohol Epidemiologic Survey and the National Epidemiologic Study on Alcohol and Related Conditions, two surveys of 43,000 people conducted by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

"The reasons for the uptick vary and may involve complex socio-demographic changes in the population, but the findings are clear -- more people are consuming alcohol now than in the early 1990s," said Dr. Caetano. He concluded that new public health policies such as limits on the advertising of alcohol and increasing beverage taxes may be needed.

The study appears in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research.
 

Labels: alcohol_abuse, binge drinking

Posted By: Adolescent Substance Abuse 1 Comment

Teenagers start drinking in high school, usually at parties without adult supervision, according to a major new study from George Mason University. They drink much more and at much younger ages than their parents realize, mostly to socialize and with the intention of getting drunk. They are most likely to obtain alcohol through older brothers and sisters.

• While teenagers understand the danger of drinking and driving, they do not understand the damage that alcohol does to the human body or the legal and social consequences of underage drinking, according to the report.
• Teenagers are not afraid of getting caught because they do not think drinking laws are strictly enforced. The second most common reason after socializing teenagers gave after "to socialize" was "relieve stress."
• Teachers and other educational professionals told the research team that they knew their alcohol awareness programs were not working.

Professors David Anderson and Hugh Gusterson used to telephone surveys of more than 1,600 teenagers and their parents, interviews with experts who work with teen alcoholism issues, and focus groups of teenagers and adults for their study entitled, "Understanding Teen Drinking Cultures in America."

One key finding is the role that families play in teenage drinking. Parental guidance is crucial, but older siblings also influence a younger children by providing alcohol or by guiding them in a positive way.

"We found that many parents find it difficult to talk to one another about the issue of teenage drinking," Dr. Gusterson said. "It is important that we find a way to help parents talk more candidly about the issue."

Other recommendations were to create clear and consistent messages about alcohol to establish ways for teenagers to talk frankly and openly about drinking with parents and other adults, and to believe that changing the teen drinking culture is possible.

Labels: teenage_drinking, alcohol_abuse

Posted By: Jane St. Clair 3 Comments

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 1 Comment

The recreational abuse of cough suppressants such NyQuil to  is becoming a relatively common form of adolescent substance abuse. As a result, the FDA was considering whether to control them via prescriptions -- but for the time being, such regulation will not take place.

“The FDA advisory panel recognized that abuse was a concern in adolescents, but decided that DXM [dextromethorphan] was not enough of a threat to general public health to warrant its classification within the Controlled Substance Act, which would have allowed states to consider it for prescription-use only.” [Source: National Examiner]

Though products containing DXM won’t be listed as controlled substances, the FDA considered the possibility of requiring drug stores to keep the products behind the counter. The committee is also considering instituting a minimum age requirement for purchases.

Labels: cough_syrup, over-the-counter-drugs

Posted By: Stefanie Hamilton 0 Comments

Alcohol abuse, alcoholism and alcohol poisoning are on the rise among teenagers. And an increasing number are dying as a result. In an effort to combat this trend, schools around the country are instituting a program called “Safe Home Agreement.”

Each year these participating schools send out a simple contract to each family, which states: We (the school) work to create a health and safe atmosphere where alcohol and other drugs are not acceptable.

(1) I agree to discuss alcohol and other drugs with my teenagers. (2) Unless there is a responsible adult present, I will not permit parties in my home. (3) When parties are hosted in my home, I will not serve or permit youths under legal drinking age to drink alcohol or use illegal drugs. - Source: Bay Area Living (CA)

Many of the schools also compile a student directory that’s sent to all the families. An asterisk (*) marks the families who signed Safe Home Agreements. Some parents have said it puts their minds at ease when they know their kids are with other students whose parents signed the Agreement.

Labels: prevention

Posted By: Adolescent Substance Abuse 0 Comments

How you talk to yourself influences your self-control regarding food, alcohol, drugs, and impulsive behaviors, according to a new study from the University of Toronto.

• Lead author Alexa Tullet monitored 37 people as they try to master a computer game.
• One group could use "self-talk" to encourage themselves to be successful and avoid impulsive moves.
• The other group had to keep repeating the word "computer" aloud so as to make self- dialogue impossible.
• The second group had more trouble controlling their impulsive behaviors.

"Telling yourself, 'Stick to that diet, stick to that diet' ... that kind of self talk actually contributes to self-control," said Michael Inzlicht, who supervised the study. "When we don't have the ability to engage in this kind of self-talk, we have less ability to control ourselves."

The study appears in the journal Acta Psychologica.

Labels: self-control

Posted By: Jane St. Clair 0 Comments

Pediatricians want children to view fewer advertisements for cigarettes, alcohol and prescription drugs.

Among the recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics are the following:

• Limit advertisements on television if 10% or more of the audience consists of children
• Launch a new government anti-smoking and anti-drinking campaign aimed at teenagers
• Ask parents to supervise their children's use of media
• Restrict erectile dysfunction messages for broadcast only after 10 p.m.
• Begin a debate about the wisdom of advertising prescription drugs.

"Alcohol remains the greatest public health problem, and it remains the most lethal drug for young people," said Dr. John Knight, Director of the Center for Adolescent Substance Abuse Research at Children's Hospital of Boston. "Advertising glamorizes alcohol and really primes our kids to think they can't have fun unless there is booze."

The recommendations appear in the journal Pediatrics.

Labels: alcohol, prescription drugs, cigarettes, media

Posted By: CRC Health Group 0 Comments

Some people with anxiety disorders try to mask their symptoms with drugs and alcohol. This group is at risk for developing substance abuse disorders, according to new research from the University of Manitoba.

• Jennifer Robinson and her colleagues studied 34,653 American adults who took part in the National Epidemiologic Survey on Alcohol and Related Conditions.
• They identified a subgroup with anxiety disorders who were not dependent on drugs or alcohol at the beginning of the study, and then followed them for three years.
• After taking out factors such as age, sex, income, education, and ethnicity, the research team found that those who were self-medicating anxiety with drugs or alcohol were at much greater risk for developing substance dependencies than others.
• Although using drugs and alcohol might ease symptoms in the short-run, the study found that self-medicating this way actually made things worse by causing conditions such as panic disorders.
• Self-medicating with drugs and alcohol also may keep people with anxiety disorders from receiving proper treatment, according to the study.

"It is important for patients to know the effects that self-medication can have," said Robinson. " ... It might seem relatively safe, but we found it is a risk. Maybe if they treat the anxiety adequately, the need for substances would be lessened."

The study was presented at the Canadian Psychiatric Association's annual conference.
 

Labels: alcohol_abuse, drug use, anxiety

Posted By: Adolescent Substance Abuse 0 Comments

"Cool kids" are more likely to engage in teen drug and alcohol abuse in order to maintain their popularity, according to a new study from the University of Montréal.

• Professor Jean-Sebastian Fallu kept track of how much alcohol, marijuana, and hard drugs that 500 children used when they were 10 to 11 years old, 12 to 13 years old, and 14 to 15 years old.
• While using illegal substances did not contribute to a child's popularity, it helped to maintain popular.
• By age 15, the most popular children in the study who had friends who were also popular were using twice as much drugs and alcohol as other young people. Drug and alcohol use was a "social maintenance" strategy.

"To be popular, function well, and have popular friends does not mean an adolescent is not a risk," said Professor Fallu. "In fact, it probably means the adolescent is at higher risk for drug and alcohol abuse -- at least for a short period of time."

Labels: drug use, alcohol, students

Posted By: Jane St. Clair 3 Comments