Joseph A. Califano, Jr. –
Chairman and President of CASA
Google News today finds 243 stories with headlines like:
- Teen sex, drug link,
- Teenagers link sex, substance abuse and
- Teenager´s Sexual Activity is Tied to Drugs and Drink.
All are based on a study (pdf) released yesterday by the Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse (CASA) at Columbia University.
The papers base their stories on the press release which hightlights:
Other key findings on the first few of the studies 70 pages are:SEXUALLY ACTIVE FRIENDS AND DATING PRACTICES CAN SIGNAL INCREASE IN A TEEN’S SUBSTANCE ABUSE RISK – Girls Who Date Boys Two or More Years Older Likelier to Smoke, Drink, Get Drunk, and Use Illegal Drugs.
Fifty-six percent of 12- to 17-year olds surveyed report they have friends who are sexually active. The more sexually active friends a teen has, the likelier that teen is to smoke, drink or use illegal drugs.
Meme: Sexual activity induces drug usage.
A teen, half or more of whose friends regularly view and download Internet pornography, is three times likelier to smoke, drink or use illegal drugs than a teen who has no such friends.
Meme: Internet pornography makes teens use drugs.
CASA surveys have consistently shown that the more often children have dinner with their parents, the less likely they are to smoke, drink or use illegal drugs.
Meme: Traditional family life forestalls drug usage.
Such are the Key Findings. Now lets take an unusual dive into the depth of the study:
The incidence of sexually active friends ranges from 28 percent of 12-year olds to 79 percent of 17-year old.
i.e.: When teens grow older they are more likely to have sex and are more likely to smoke pot.
The prevalence of teens with friends who regularly view and download pornography from the Internet increases with age, from nearly one-third of 12-year olds (31 percent) to nearly two-thirds of 17-year olds (61 percent).
i.e.: When teens grow older they are more likely to look at porn and are more likely to drink bear.
As teens get older they are less likely to have dinner with their families on a regular basis. Thirty-two percent of 17-year olds have dinner seven nights a week with their families compared to 56 percent of 13-year olds.
i.e.: When teens are younger they are more likely to have family dinner and are less likely to have sex, to smoke, to drink and to look at porn.
To be fair, the study finds the simple connection. Short before the appendix it says:
Age remains one of the best predictors of risk in the CASA survey: as a teen gets older, his or her substance-abuse risk increases.
But the well researched New York Times, as 242 other newspapers, would never print such banalities. That may well fit the intentions of Columba Bush, First Lady of Florida, and of some other boardmembers of CASA.