The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA)'s Treatment Episode Data Set has revealed some distinct differences between the substance abuse risks for girls and those for boys. Most notably, though girls only made up 1/3 of the total number of adolescents admitted for treatment in 2005, they were much more likely to have a co-occurring psychiatric disorder.

"Adolescents admitted with a psychiatric problem in addition to a substance abuse problem were counted as having a co-occurring disorder. Girls were more likely to have such co-occurring disorders, which were reported in 23 percent of the female admissions compared with 18 percent of the male admissions."

Girls were also more likely to enter treatment at an earlier age for both alcohol and marijuana, and were much more likely to abuse drugs like cocaine and opiates. Read more at EMaxHealth.com.

Learn about the connection between teens and drugs at the Teen Help Directory. You'll find information about adolescent substance abuse and teenage drug abuse at TeenHelpDirectory.com.

Labels: disorders, genders, risky_behaviors