National Study Shows Increase in Teen Alcohol and Drug Use
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April 16, 2010
After a decade of consistent declines in teen drug abuse, a new national study released by the Partnership for a Drug-Free America® and MetLife Foundation points to marked upswings in the use of drugs that teens are likely to encounter at parties and in other social situations.
According to the 2009 Partnership Attitude Tracking Study (PATS), sponsored by MetLife Foundation, the number of teens in grades 9–12 who used alcohol in the past month has grown by 11 percent , past year ecstasy use shows a 67 percent increase, and past year marijuana use shows a 19 percent increase. The PATS data mark a reverse in the remarkable, sustained declines in several drugs of abuse among teens: methamphetamine (meth) was down by more than 60 percent, and past month alcohol and marijuana use had decreased a full 30 percent over the past decade (1998–2008).
More information can be viewed on the PATS Teens 2009 Web page at www.drugfree.org/Portal/DrugIssue/Research/Teen_Study_2009/National_Study.