Over the past decade, teenage girls have been more likely than their male peers to use nicotine, cannabis, and alcohol, according to a new study led by psychiatrists at the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine.
The study authors examined data collected between September 2016 and January 2024 regarding substance use among 11,880 participants in the Adolescent Brain Cognitive Development Study. By age 16, nearly four in ten participants reported prior substance use, with alcohol, cannabis, and nicotine as the most commonly reported substances. Before age 12, boys were more likely than girls to report prior substance use. However, this pattern reversed around age 13, with girls reporting higher rates of substance use, with the largest differences observed for nicotine.
By age 14, 11.3 percent of girls and 8 percent of boys reported nicotine use, 8.8 percent of girls and 7 percent of boys reported cannabis use, and 8.3 percent of girls and 6.5 percent of boys reported alcohol use. Additionally, girls were more likely to report using two or more substances after age 13, with the most common combinations involving nicotine.
According to the research team, their findings provide an updated, nationally representative benchmark regarding patterns in youth substance use, which can help inform future research into adolescent neuro-development and health outcomes.
Along with scholars from UC San Diego, the research team include authors from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, the J. Craig Venter Institute in La Jolla, California, and the University of Michigan.