Anxiety and substance use during adolescence.
BACKGROUND
The primary goal of this study was to examine the relationship between anxiety symptomatology and substance use (alcohol use and drug use) during adolescence, systematically by gender and race/ethnicity.


METHODS
Self-report surveys were administered to 905 15-17-year-old adolescents (54% girls) in the spring of 2007.


RESULTS
RESULTS from multiple group analyses indicated that the relationship between anxiety and substance use differs by gender and race/ethnicity. For Caucasian and African American boys, higher levels of social anxiety and separation anxiety were related to less substance use. In contrast, higher levels of generalized anxiety disorder and panic disorder were associated with more substance use for African American boys. The pattern was much less striking for girls. For Caucasian girls, higher levels of significant school avoidance were linked to more substance use, and consistent with the results for boys, higher levels of separation anxiety were associated with less substance use. None of the anxiety disorders were related to substance use for African American girls or Hispanic girls or boys.


CONCLUSIONS
Findings from this study highlight the need to distinguish between different anxiety disorders. In addition, they underscore the importance of considering both gender and race/ethnicity when examining the relationship between anxiety and substance use during adolescence.
['McCauley Ohannessian|Christine|C|']
D000293:Adolescent D000294:Adolescent Behavior D001741:African Americans D001008:Anxiety Disorders D015897:Comorbidity D003863:Depression D005260:Female D006630:Hispanic or Latino D006801:Humans D008297:Male D008873:Mid-Atlantic Region D008960:Models, Psychological D057566:Self Report D012737:Sex Factors D019966:Substance-Related Disorders D044465:Whites
anxiety Alcohol drugs gender race