Teen substance abuse is once again on the rise, according to a national study of adolescent drug and alcohol use released this week. The annual release of the Partnership Attitude Tracking Study (PATS) showed an alarming increase in adolescent substance abuse since 2008. According to the study (PDF), teen illicit drug use and prescription drug abuse have significantly increased in the past three years. Marijuana use among adolescents increased 22 percent from 2008 to 2010, with nearly 40 percent of teens using the drug within the past year. Ecstasy use …
On Tuesday, the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention announced that U.S. teen birth rates dropped to their lowest rate in decades. According to the report, the number of teenage births has declined by nearly 40 percent in the last 20 years. Of course, this is good news, especially considering the myriad negative implications for children born to teen moms, such as lower school achievement and an increased risk of becoming teen parents themselves. But there’s a flipside to this positive news. Despite the dip in teen births, over …
Research and policy proposals to make sense of the teenage years tend to address concerns such as educational achievement, sexuality, drug abuse and suicide. Noted sociologist and University of Notre Dame professor Christian Smith has spent much of his career delving into a curiously overlooked aspect of teenage life — religion. His research offers insights into teenage beliefs while addressing common questions from parents and youth pastors: Do today’s teens remain loyal to their parents’ faith? Are they abandoning traditional religious institutions to search for a newer, more “authentic” spirituality?
According to the Wall Street Journal, while speaking on “the sidelines of a smart grid conference in Washington,” Energy Secretary Steven Chu had this gem when speaking about you, the American people, and your embrace of his green jobs and global warming agenda: The American public…just like your teenage kids, aren’t acting in a way that they should act. The American public has to really understand in their core how important this issue is. Once again, the Obama Administration has decided to name call, condescend and demean the opposition rather than …
The jump in unemployment from 5.0% to 5.5%, the largest jump in over 20 years, is definitely an indication of a sluggish economy. But the sky is not falling. Heritage scholars Rea Hederman, Jr. and James Sherk explain why: There are, however, two reasons why this large jump in the unemployment rate should not be extremely worrying. First, the unemployment rate increased because a large number of individuals entered the labor force. Actual labor force participation increased to its highest level in over a year. An increase in the participation …
