"If I knew what I know now I would never have smoked marijuana even once! Take time to explain everything to your kids before they are misinformed by a kid who is already using or trying to sell it to them."
— Anthony, 20-years-old

JUST THE FACTS

The latest findings on drug use in the United States from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) show that marijuana is the most widely used illicit drug by girls. And research trends indicate that girls are catching up with boys with regard to illicit drug and alcohol use. In some cases, such as cigarette smoking, girls’ usage rates have surpassed those of boys.

• More teenage girls use marijuana than cocaine, heroin, Ecstasy and all other illicit drugs combined. (2004 NSDUH)
   
• Girls are closing the gap with boys in terms of usage of marijuana, alcohol and cigarettes. Since 2002, more teenage girls than boys started using marijuana. And in 2004, more girls than boys started using alcohol and cigarettes. (2002, 2003, and 2004 NSDUH).
   
• In 2002, 895,000 teenage girls started using marijuana
   
• In 2003, 657,000 teenage girls started using marijuana
   
• In 2004, 675,000 teenage girls started using marijuana
   
• In 2004, 1,500,000 teenage girls started using alcohol
   
• In 2004, 730,000 teenage girls started smoking cigarettes
   
• Teen girls surpass boys in their misuse of prescription drugs. (2005 NSDUH)
   
• One out of eight teenage girls reported smoking cigarettes in the past month (12.5% compared to 11.3% for boys). (2004 NSDUH)
   
• 18 percent of teenage girls reported drinking alcohol in the past month, compared to 17.2 percent of teenage boys. (2004 NSDUH)

Teenage girls are vulnerable to a number of unique physical, psychological and social risk factors for drug and alcohol abuse, according to recent studies.

• Depression, anxiety, excessive concerns about weight and appearance, risky sexual behavior, early puberty, psychiatric or conduct disorders, or physical or sexual abuse are key risk factors for substance abuse that girls and young women are affected by. (CASA, 2003)
   
• More than twice as many young females as males reported depression in 2004. (2004 NSDUH)
   
• Stress has been identified as a leading reason for drinking, smoking, and using drugs among girls. (The Commonwealth Fund, 1997)
   
• Friends have a substantial influence on teens overall, but girls are especially susceptible to peer pressure when it comes to drinking. Adolescent girls are more likely than boys to drink to fit in with their friends, while boys drink largely for other reasons and then join a group that also drinks. (Donovan, 1996)

Marijuana and alcohol use can impair judgment and lead to serious consequences.  Recent studies show that teenage girls who abuse drugs and alcohol are more likely to have sex.

• In 2003, approximately one out of four (23.9%) sexually active ninth-grade girls had used alcohol or drugs during their last sexual intercourse. (YRBSS, 2003)
   
• Nearly one quarter of sexually active teens and young adults say they have had unprotected sex because they were using alcohol or drugs at the time. (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2002)
   
• Twelve percent of sexually active teens ages 15 to 17 and 25 percent of sexually active youths ages 18 to 24 reported having had unprotected sex while they were using alcohol or drugs. (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2002)
   
• Alcohol or drug use can place young people at higher risk for contracting an STD, as those whose use alcohol and drugs are more likely to have sex with multiple partners. (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2002)
   
• Substance abuse may also be related to higher rates of unintended pregnancy because drug and alcohol use is associated with decreased condom use and increased casual sexual activity during which contraceptives of any kind are less likely to be used. (Kaiser Family Foundation, 2002)
   
• Many girls lose their virginity while drunk. Many of those become pregnant, or do things they wouldn’t do when sober. In one study of unplanned pregnancies in 14-21 year olds, one third of the girls who had gotten pregnant had been drinking when they had sex – 91 percent of them reported that the sex was unplanned. (Flanigan et al., 1990)

Studies show that girls’ issues with self-esteem and body image can lead to substance abuse.

• Research shows that many girls experience a dramatic transition during early adolescence, marked by a decline in their self-esteem and self-confidence. (Pipher, 1994)
   
• One study found that girls, who at age 12 were low in self-esteem, were nearly two and a half times likelier to engage in heavy alcohol use at age 15 than those higher in self-esteem. (Kumpulainen & Roine, 2002). 
   
• Young females tend to use alcohol or drugs to improve mood, increase confidence, reduce tension, cope with problems, lose inhibitions, enhance sex, or lose weight. (CASA, 2003)
   
• Research has found that girls who are vulnerable to low self-worth may have more trouble coping with the stressors of adolescence. (McCauley, Pavlidis, & Kendall, 1999)
   
• Diet pill use among girls has tended to run from two-and-a-half times to four times as high as among boys. (2005 MTF)

Adolescent girls are susceptible to the physical, mental, and sometimes social consequences of substance abuse, especially at a critical time in life when their bodies and brains are still developing.

• Some research shows that marijuana use can precede symptoms of depression. Girls (ages 14-15) who used marijuana daily were five times more likely to face depression at age 21. Daily use in young women was associated with an over fivefold increase in the odds of reporting a state of depression and anxiety. (Patton et al., 2002)
   
• Girls are more vulnerable to the health consequences of substance use, such as developing symptoms of nicotine addiction faster than boys. (DiFranza et al., 2002)
   
• Adolescent girls who consume even moderate amounts of alcohol may experience disrupted growth and puberty. (National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, 2004)
   
• A recent study concluded that engaging in sex and using drugs places adolescents, and especially girls, at risk for future depression. (Hallfors et al, 2005) 
   
• It is estimated that teenage girls who binge drink are up to 63 percent more likely to become teen mothers. (Dee, 2001)
   
• In 2003, approximately one out of four (23.9%) sexually active ninth-grade girls had used alcohol or drugs during their last sexual intercourse. (YRBSS, 2003)

Research shows that parents are the most important influence in their daughters’ decisions about drug use.

• Parental trust is a powerful deterrent to risky behavior among female adolescents. (Borawski, Levers-Landis, Lovegreen, & Trapl, 2003)
   
• Parental disapproval of drug use plays a strong role in turning back drug use.  Youth who felt their parents did not strongly disapprove of marijuana use were about six times as likely to use marijuana as youth who felt their parents would disapprove. (2004 NSDUH)
   
• Girls appear to be more sensitive to conflict and related issues in the family. When parenting quality declines, or when an adolescent girl is exposed to high levels of negative emotion from parents or other family members, her developing capacities for coping and self-regulation may be overwhelmed by life stressors or challenges. (Call & Mortimer, 2001)

For more on this topic, visit the following pages on TheAntiDrug.com:
Girls at Risk Tips for Moms & Dads	Hangin’ Out: Fun Ideas Parents Ask the Questions

Sources:

The National Survey on Drug Use and Health (NSDUH) 2002, 2003 and 2004. Department of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration.

Monitoring the Future (MTF), National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), 2002 to 2005.

National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse. Formative years: Pathways to substance abuse among girls and young women ages 8-22. Columbia University, New York, NY, 2003.

The Commonwealth Fund survey of the health of adolescent girls, New York: The Commonwealth Fund, 1997.

Donovan, J.E. Gender differences in alcohol involvement in children and adolescents: a review of the literature. In Women and alcohol: Issues for prevention research, National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism, Research Monograph No. 32, Bethesda, MD, 1996.

Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2003. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2004. MMWR: CDC Surveillance Summaries 53 (No. SS-2): 75.

Substance Use and Risky Sexual Behavior: Attitudes and Practices Among Adolescents and Young Adults, February 2002, Kaiser Family Foundation.

Flanigan, B., Mclean, A., Hall, C., & Propp, V. (1990). Alcohol use as a situational influence on young women’s pregnancy risk-taking behaviors. Adolescence, 25: 205-214. University of Wisconsin-Madison, School of Social Work 53706.

Pipher, M. Reviving Ophelia: Saving the selves of adolescent girls. New York, NY: Random House, 1994.

Kumpulainen, K., & Roine, S. (2002).  Depressive symptoms at the age of 12 years and future heavy alcohol use.  Addictive Behaviors, 27(3), 425-436.

McCauley, E., Pavlidis, K., & Kendall, K. The depressed child and adolescent: Developmental and clinical perspectives. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, England, 1999.

DiFranza, J.R., Savageau, J.A., Rigotti, N.A., Fletcher, K., Ockene, J.K., McNeill, A.D., et al. Development of symptoms of tobacco dependence in youths: 30 month follow up data from the DANDY study. Tobacco Control, 11 (3), 228-235, 2002.

National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA). Alcohol Alert No. 62, Alcohol-An Important Women’s Health Issue, July, 2004.

Hallfors, D. et al. Which Comes First in Adolescence—Sex and Drugs or Depression? American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 29 (3): 163–170, 2005.

Dee., T.S. The effects of minimum legal drinking ages on teen childbearing. The Journal of Human Resources, 36(4), 824-838, 2001.

Patton, G.C. et al. Cannabis use and mental health in young people: cohort study. British Medical Journal, 325:1195-1198, 2002.

Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System, 2003. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. 2004. MMWR: CDC Surveillance Summaries 53 (No. SS-2): 1-96.

Borawski, E., Levers-Landis, C., Lovegreen, L., & Trapl, E. Parental monitoring: Negotiated unsupervised time and parental trust: the role of perceived parenting practices in adolescent health risk behaviors. Journal of Adolescent Health, (33): 60-70, 2003.

Call, KT., & Mortimer, JT. Arenas of comfort in adolescence: A study of adjustment in context. Manwah, N.J: Lawrence Erlbaum, 2001.