Confidential surveys of more than 4,000 Cleveland-area schools have revealed a troubling relationship between excessive text-messaging and a wide range of dangerous teen behaviors.

According to Case Western Reserve University researchers, teens who send more than 120 text messages per day (which just under 20 percent of teens do), are at increased risk for engaging in the following behaviors:

• 40 per cent more likely to have tried cigarettes
• Two times more likely to have tried alcohol
• 43 per cent more likely to be binge drinkers
• 41 per cent more likely to have used illicit drugs
• 55 per cent more likely to have been in a physical fight
• Nearly three-and-a-half times more likely to have had sex
• 90 per cent more likely to report four or more sexual partners

Labels: texting

Posted By: Adolescent Substance Abuse