1994-2001 current publications


Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 2002; 68:309-322.

Substance use, abuse and dependence in adolescence: Prevalence, symptom profiles, and correlates.

Young, S.E., Corley, R.P., Stallings, M.C., Rhee, S.H., Crowley, T.J., & Hewitt, J.K.

In this sibling/twin/adoption sample, adolescent experimentation seemed to be general rather than specialized, as most users have tried multiple substances. A majority of adolescents had tried at least one substance more than 5 times by age 17, and substance use disorders were not rare in this sample. Gender differences in rates of use, abuse, and dependence were not dramatic, but more often showed higher rates in males than females. Differences in the ages of onset of substance experimentation and diagnostic symptom profiles for males and females suggest that some characteristics of substance use disorders may be gender-specific in adolescence.

Division of Substance Dependence