Teen Drug And Alcohol Use Lowest Among Blacks, Asians

Source: The Huffington Post

Black and Asian adolescents are much less likely to turn to drugs or alcohol than teens of other races, according to a new study.

The survey of adolescents aged 12 to 17 years reveals that in total, 37 percent used alcohol or drugs in the past year, and 7.9 percent met criteria that would identify the teens as having a substance-related disorder.

When separated by race, Native American teens had the highest level of drug use, with nearly 48 percent reporting having used substances in the last year. That group is followed by 39 percent of white teens, almost 37 percent of Hispanics, 36 percent of multi-racial adolescents, 32 percent of blacks and nearly 24 percent of Asians.

“There is certainly still a myth out there that black kids are more likely to have problems with drugs than white kids, and this documents as clearly as any study we’re aware of that the rate of … substance-related disorders among African American youths is significantly lower,” Dan Blazer from Duke’s Department of Psychiatry, a senior author of the study, told the Raleigh News & Observer.

To read this article in its entirety visit The Huffington Post.

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