RIVERSIDE – (INT) – A 20-year study of adolescents in the US has linked a high prevalence of alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use, with suicide-related thoughts and behaviors.

The data show that among U.S. adolescents in ninth to 12th grades, 75 percent had used alcohol, 58 percent had used cigarettes, and 41 percent tried marijuana.

For rates of past-year depressed mood and suicidality, over one quarter of U.S. adolescents reported depressed mood, almost 20 percent experienced serious suicidal thoughts, and 8 percent had attempted suicide.

Examining national data for U.S. adolescents, a research team led by Andrew Subica at the University of California, Riverside reports that adolescents have high prevalence of alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use, and concerning rates of suicide-related thoughts and behaviors.

Adolescents from every racial minority group had significantly higher rates of attempted suicide over the past year.

The paper, published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, presents some of the largest known estimates to date of the prevalence of substance use and suicide among American youth.

Story Date: April 20, 2018