NIDA Notes Articles: Teens

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Adolescent Smoking and Drinking at Historic Lows

July 2012
Rates of adolescent cigarette smoking and alcohol drinking stood at historic lows in 2011, but marijuana use trended upward, according to the Monitoring the Future (MTF) survey.

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Prevention System’s Benefits Exceed Cost and Has Sustained Effects

July 2012
Towns that implemented a drug abuse prevention program called Communities That Care will see a return of $5.30 for each $1 they invested during the 5-year trial of the intervention, according to a cost-benefit analysis. The estimate is based on reductions in smoking and delinquency observed during the fourth year of the study among eighth-graders and the projected total costs of smoking, delinquency, and crime avoided over the lifetimes of study participants.

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Elevated Rates of Drug Abuse Continue for Second Year

June 2012
Illicit drug use in the United States in 2010 was at its highest level since 2002, according to the most recent report from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health. A rise in marijuana use drove the increase. A favorable trend of falling cocaine use continued.

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Nicotine Dependence Linked to Higher Rates of Mental Disorders Among Teens

March 2012
A study of teenagers in Chicago public schools finds higher rates of psychiatric disorders among those with more symptoms of nicotine dependence.

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In Animals, Receptor Puts Brakes on Nicotine Consumption

March 2012
New research suggests that differences in tobacco consumption reflect, in part, differences in the functional efficacy of a specific type of receptor in a pathway of the brain. In animal studies, nicotinic acetylcholine receptors with the α5 subunit played a key role in producing aversive responses to nicotine, thereby dissuading further consumption of the drug.

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Peers Increase Teen Driving Risk via Heightened Reward Activity

March 2012
Adolescent, but not adult, drivers are more likely to take risks when peers are watching, a new study suggests.

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Program Helps Troubled Boys Reduce Substance Abuse

December 2011
Chronically delinquent boys in Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care reduced their substance abuse more than boys assigned to Community Group Care.

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Individual Differences in Decisionmaking Style May Predict Teen Problems

December 2011
Reports on the relative influence of genes versus environment on adolescents’ choices that involve delayed gratification.

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Gene Influences Impact of Maternal Smoking on Children's Behavioral Problems

July 2011
Describes research showing that the combination of prenatal smoking exposure and specific genes increases children’s and adolescent’s risk for behavior problems.

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Drugs Contribute to High Rates of Sexually Transmitted Diseases Among Juvenile Offenders

July 2011
Describe a study of newly arrested youths where researchers found correlations between the youths' prevalence of these sexually transmitted diseases and their cocaine and marijuana use.

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