What Challenges Are Boys Facing, and What Opportunities Exist To Address Those Challenges? Fact Sheet: Substance Abuse*

David was looking forward to some Friday night fun.  A starter on his high school basketball team, he had practiced hard every evening that week for the big game against a crosstown rival and still had to make time to study for his first period geometry test.  After dinner with his family, he headed over to a party at the house of a schoolmate whose parents were out of town.  When he got there, the alcohol was already flowing.  And then someone offered David some pot.  He had to make a decision.

(*)  This fact sheet is based on a comprehensive review of the scientific literature, including computer searches of major bibliographic databases (e.g., PsycINFO, MEDLINE/PubMed, EBSCOhost), looking for epidemiological studies that evaluated what factors make boys more or less prone to certain outcomes. The literature search was limited to scholarly journal articles and government documents published in 2000 and later unless an article was a seminal piece in the field or contributed to tracking trends over time. The statistics provided are from the most recent year for which data were available. Where possible, data related specifically to boys are included, but when these data were not available, data on youth, ages 10 to 18, are provided.