What topics does this cannabis study cover?

This study covers research on: Mental Health, Addiction.

Where was this research published?

Published in Addictive behaviors reports on August 26, 2026.

Why teen girls may be turning to substances for coping

Q: What did this research study find?

Girls reported **approximately twice as much recent substance use** as boys, including *marijuana*, vaping products, alcohol, and non-medical prescription pain medicine.

Understanding higher substance use among early adolescent females: A decomposition analysis of adverse childhood experiences, bullying victimization, and depressive symptoms.

Addictive behaviors reports • August 26, 2026 • Relevant

🤖

AI Summary

A 2023 survey of 6,734 Nevada students in grades 6–8 found that girls reported higher past-30-day use of several substances than boys. The differences were especially notable for electronic vapor products, alcohol, marijuana, and non-medical prescription pain medicine: girls’ reported use was approximately twice as high across these categories. Because the study was cross-sectional, it shows associations rather than proving that one factor caused another.

Girls also reported more adverse childhood experiences, electronic bullying, and depressive symptoms. In statistical decomposition analyses, depressive symptoms accounted for the largest share of the observed sex differences, followed by household substance abuse, emotional abuse, and household mental illness. The authors conclude that prevention should be sex-specific, trauma-informed, and focused on healthier coping strategies—an approach relevant to families, schools, and communities addressing early cannabis and substance use.

💡 Key Findings

Girls reported approximately twice as much recent substance use as boys, including marijuana, vaping products, alcohol, and non-medical prescription pain medicine.

High

80%

Depressive symptoms made the largest contribution to explaining the observed sex differences in substance use, accounting for 44.9% to 64.0% across the substances studied.

Good

75%

Household substance abuse, emotional abuse, and household mental illness also contributed substantially to the observed differences in use.

Good

75%

The findings support sex-specific, trauma-informed prevention that includes healthy coping strategies.

High

80%

📄 Original Abstract

Historically, U.S. adolescent boys have reported higher substance use than girls, but this has changed in recent years with girls reporting more use. The reasons for this demographic shift are unclear, but girls may be more likely to turn to substance use as a way to cope with stress and internalizing problems. We used cross-sectional data from the 2023 Nevada Middle School Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) (grades 6-8;n = 6734). We estimated the adjusted prevalence ratios of girls versus boys past 30-day substance use (electronic vapor products (EVP), alcohol, marijuana, and non-medical prescription pain medicine (NMPPM)) and intervention-relevant factors (adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), bullying victimization, and depressive symptoms). To estimate how much of the potential substance use sex disparities were statistically accounted for by differences in the prevalence of risk factors, we conducted decomposition analyses. Substance use was higher for girls versus boys: EVP (aPR:2.05, 95%CI:1.62,2.61), alcohol (aPR:1.76, 95%CI:1.39,2.21), marijuana (aPR:1.93, 95%CI:1.43,2.59), and NMPPM (aPR:1.91, 95%CI:1.44,2.54). Girls also reported higher prevalence of intervention-relevant factors. The factors that made the largest contributions to statistically accounting for the substance use sex disparities were depressive symptoms (range:44.9-64.0%), household substance abuse (range:31.0-44.7%), emotional abuse (range:28.4-43.6%), and household mental illness (range:26.9-41.5%). Recent substance use was approximately twice as high among girls compared to boys. These sex disparities may be statistically accounted for by the higher prevalence of ACEs, electronic bullying, and depressive symptoms among girls. There is a need for sex-specific substance use prevention that is trauma-informed and includes healthy coping strategies.

Paper Type

📄 Research

Publication

Journal: Addictive behaviors reports
Published: August 26, 2026
PMID: 42699626
DOI: 10.1016/j.abrep.2026.100744

Authors (6)

Meghan Powers Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, University of Nevada, Reno, 1664 N. Virginia Street, Reno, NV 89557, USA.
Stephanie M Koning Department of Health Behavior, Policy, and Administration Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Nevada, Reno, 1664 N. Virginia Street, Reno, NV 89557, USA.
Wei Yang Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, University of Nevada, Reno, 1664 N. Virginia Street, Reno, NV 89557, USA.
Minggen Lu Department of Biostatistics, Epidemiology, and Environmental Health, School of Public Health, University of Nevada, Reno, 1664 N. Virginia Street, Reno, NV 89557, USA.
Jennifer McClendon Department of Human Development, Family Science, and Counseling, College of Education & Human Development, University of Nevada, Reno, 1664 N. Virginia Street, Reno, NV 89557, USA.
+1 more authors