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.
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