Black and Asian teenagers in the U.S. are less likely to use
Black and Asian teenagers in the U.S. are less likely to use alcohol or drugs than adolescents of other races, a study found.
The survey of 72,561 teens found that American Indian youth had the highest level of drug or alcohol use, with 48 percent reporting they had used the substances in the past year. That was followed by 39 percent of whites, 37 percent of Hispanics, 36 percent mixed-race teens, 32 percent of blacks and 24 percent of Asians, according to the research published today in Archives of General Psychiatry.
About 90 percent of all adults with alcohol and drug problems started using before the age of 18 and half started before the age of 15, according to the website of the Partnership at Drugfree.org, a nonprofit that helps parents find information on drug abuse prevention, intervention, treatment and recovery for their children.