Columbia University's National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse has issued a study demonstrating in teenagers a link between sexual activity and drugs and alchohol:
The words of an old proverb - "Tell me who you walk with, and I'll tell you who you are" - gained new meaning on Thursday with the release of a national study showing that teenagers whose friends were sexually active were more likely to smoke, drink or use illegal drugs.
Teenagers who reported that at least half of their friends were sexually active were 31 times likelier to get drunk, 51/2 times likelier to smoke and 221/2 times likelier to have tried marijuana, according to the study, released by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University.
"It's a clear message for parents," said Joseph A. Califano Jr., the center's chairman and president. "The thunder of teen sexual activity and dating behavior may signal the lightning of substance abuse."
Ding ding ding ding ding--I think we have a winner!
1 comment:
Of course the reverse is also true. Using inhibition lowering substances makes teen sexual activity more likely. It isn't all raging hormones by themselves.
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