US Teen Girls Drinking More Alcohol
by John Lester http://www.newsoxy.com/
The Partnership for a Drug-Free America conducted a new survey and found that teen girls are drinking more alcohol than boys. Part of the reason is that teen girls are more likely to perceive benefits from alcohol and drug use.
"Parents need to understand that girls today are just as likely to abuse drugs and alcohol as boys because they need more help managing stress and dealing with problems," Tom Hedrick, founding member of Partnership for a Drug-Free America, said in a statement. "Teen girls used to be less likely to be abusers of alcohol and drugs than boys, but they are catching up. And unfortunately parents still think that boys are likely to abuse drugs and alcohol and are less likely to be attuned to the signs in their daughters."
In fact, close to 70 percent of teenage girls agreed that "using drugs helps kids deal with problems at home," the survey shows. This is up 11 percent from a similar survey conducted in 2008. More than half of the individuals surveyed said that drugs can also help them forget about their problems.
Teenage boys in 2009 were also likely to say drugs help them relax in a social setting and that parties were better with drugs, when compared with similar data from the previous year's survey. The survey also showed an 11 percent up-tick in alcohol use by girls.
This increase was markedly higher than what was seen among teenage boys (2 percent increase). In fact, the use of marijuana by teenage girls in the past year was 29 percent higher than it was during the 2008 survey. Teenage boys' use of marijuana increased by 15 percent from 2008 to 2009.
The Partnership for a Drug-Free America conducted a new survey and found that teen girls are drinking more alcohol than boys. Part of the reason is that teen girls are more likely to perceive benefits from alcohol and drug use.
"Parents need to understand that girls today are just as likely to abuse drugs and alcohol as boys because they need more help managing stress and dealing with problems," Tom Hedrick, founding member of Partnership for a Drug-Free America, said in a statement. "Teen girls used to be less likely to be abusers of alcohol and drugs than boys, but they are catching up. And unfortunately parents still think that boys are likely to abuse drugs and alcohol and are less likely to be attuned to the signs in their daughters."
In fact, close to 70 percent of teenage girls agreed that "using drugs helps kids deal with problems at home," the survey shows. This is up 11 percent from a similar survey conducted in 2008. More than half of the individuals surveyed said that drugs can also help them forget about their problems.
Teenage boys in 2009 were also likely to say drugs help them relax in a social setting and that parties were better with drugs, when compared with similar data from the previous year's survey. The survey also showed an 11 percent up-tick in alcohol use by girls.
This increase was markedly higher than what was seen among teenage boys (2 percent increase). In fact, the use of marijuana by teenage girls in the past year was 29 percent higher than it was during the 2008 survey. Teenage boys' use of marijuana increased by 15 percent from 2008 to 2009.
Go to http://www.drugfree.org/ for more information.
Go to http://casakids.org/blog/ for past blog posts. All sorts of good inof can be found there!
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