Illegal Substance Abuse among Adolescents with Depressive Symptoms

Abstract

Depression is one of the most prevalent mental disorders, while risky behaviors, such as smoking, alcohol consumption and illicit drug use also remain an issue among adolescents. Early smoking has shown a positive association with drug and alcohol consumption as well as increased risk for developing depression, although depressive behavior has not been linked to subsequent smoking of tobacco. This study further examines depression as a positive indicator for smoking, alcohol consumption, and illicit drug use, such as marijuana, cocaine, and heroin, in order to identify health risks in youth. The data come from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2011–2012 and 2013–2014, and the study is comprised of adolescents aged 12–17 years (n=3,761). Depressive symptoms are analyzed using the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ‐9) which assesses frequency of depressive symptoms. The scoring scheme ranges from 0 to 27, indicating the severity of depressive symptoms. The study uses the structural equation modeling (SEM) to investigate whether depression is likely to provide an incentive for smoking, alcohol consumption, and illicit drug use. Depressive symptoms are positively associated with risky behaviors among adolescents, and additionally, higher PHQ‐9 scores indicate an increased likelihood of engaging in risky behaviors. These results may aide health and educational professionals in identifying youth at risk for smoking, alcohol consumption and illicit drug use. By diagnosing adolescents with depression, interventions to reduce risky behavior in “at risk” youth may be implemented in order to decrease illegal substance abuse.