Cannabis Use May Predict Later Anxiety
Young people who use cannabis at 15 years of age are significantly more likely to show symptoms of anxiety and depression in young adulthood, compared with non-cannabis users, data show.
From a clinical standpoint, reducing cannabis use in adolescents could reduce anxiety and depression in young adulthood, wrote Dr. Mohammad R. Hayatbakhsh and his colleagues at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia.
To assess the relationships among cannabis use and anxiety and depression, the researchers reviewed data on 3,239 Australian young people from birth to age 21 and measured confounding factors at birth, age 14, and age 21 (J. Am. Acad. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry 2007;46:408–17).
A total of 1,586 youth (49%) reported ever using cannabis; 36.8% were occasional users (an average of one use per month) and 12.2% were frequent users (an average of one use every few days). Symptoms of anxiety and depression were assessed using the Youth Self-Report questionnaire.
After the researchers controlled for multiple factors, including gender, mother's mental health, family income, and smoking and alcohol consumption, young people who were frequent cannabis users before 15 years of age were more than twice as likely to show signs of anxiety and depression as young adults than were non-cannabis users. The association persisted, whether or not the young people used other illicit drugs in addition to cannabis.
Conversely, the presence of anxiety and depression before age 15 was not significantly associated with cannabis use in young adulthood. However, the findings suggest that cannabis use in adolescence may predict mental health problems later in life, the researchers noted.
Risky Sex Linked to Sensation-Seeking
Black adolescent girls who reported risky sexual activities scored significantly higher on tests of sexual sensation-seeking traits than did those who didn't report risky sex, based on data from 1,245 sexually active females aged 15–21 years.
To examine the relationship between sexual sensation seeking and sexual risk taking in adolescents, Joshua Spitalnick, Ph.D., of Emory University, Atlanta, and his colleagues surveyed black girls who were seeking sexual health services at community health clinics (J. Adolescence 2007;30:165–73).
Most (84%) of these adolescents reported that they were involved in a sexual relationship. The average length of that relationship was 15 months, and the respondents reported an average of nine lifetime partners. The average age of the participants was 18 years.
They were evaluated using the Sexual Sensation Seeking for Adolescents (SSSA) scale, which included statements such as, “I enjoy the thrill of having sex in public places,” with answer choices ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 4 (strongly agree). Scores ranged from 9 to 36, with an average score of 17.53.
Overall, respondents with high SSSA scores were significantly more likely to report risky sexual behavior including more-frequent vaginal intercourse, more sexual partners, and inconsistent use of condoms or other protection than were girls who scored lower on the SSSA.
Delinquent Teens at Risk for Suicide
Teenage delinquency was significantly associated with an increased risk for suicidal behavior in girls, according to data from a nationally representative sample of American teens.
To prospectively examine the association between delinquency and suicide in teens, Martie P. Thompson, Ph.D., and her colleagues at Clemson (S.C.) University reviewed data on 15,034 teens aged 12–17 years from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, a survey of factors that affect teens' health and behavior (J. Adolesc. Health 2007;40:232–7).
Delinquency was assessed using a 15-item survey of behaviors in the previous 12 months, with questions such as, “How often did you deliberately damage property that didn't belong to you?”
After the researchers controlled for age, race, gender, and urban dwelling status, delinquent teens were significantly more likely than their nondelinquent peers to report suicidal ideation, suicide attempts, and treatment for suicide attempts at both 1 and 7 years' follow-up. When the researchers controlled for behavioral risk factors such as depression, impulsivity, religiosity, and problem drinking, delinquency remained significantly associated with suicidal ideation 1 year later and with suicide attempts 1 and 7 years later among girls. The association for boys remained but was not statistically significant.
Minority teens were less likely than were white teens to report suicidal ideation after 1 year, but there were no significant racial differences in those who attempted suicide or who required medical treatment after attempting suicide, Dr. Thompson and her associates noted.