Teen Drug and Alcohol Use Linked to Mental Health Distress

This post was written by Ojas Gupta,

Based on article by Matt Richtel, The New York Times

Article last edited on Jan. 29, 2024

New research has linked substance abuse in teens to various underlying mental health disorders. Matt Richtel’s article, published on January 29, 2024, in The New York Times, indicates that teens who use cannabis, alcohol, and nicotine are more likely to show psychiatric symptoms, such as anxiety, depression, hyperactivity, and suicidal ideation, compared to those not using these substances.

The research, led by Brenden Tervo-Clemmens from the University of Minnesota, found that even low levels of substance use could indicate self-medication among teens, with the most frequent users experiencing the most severe symptoms. Their study used data from two large samples: one from 15,600 Massachusetts high school students and another from 17,000 respondents to the national Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Both data sets showed “moderate dose-dependent associations with worse psychiatric symptoms, including suicidal thoughts”.

These findings highlight that today's teens face more mental health challenges but use fewer substances compared to previous generations. This shift reveals the potential of substance use tests as a method for screening mental health issues in teenagers.