Is there a relationship between race, sex and substance use among adolescents?

Adolescence is a period when teens may participate in sexual intercourse and substance use. The purpose of this study is to investigate the interaction of sex status (sexually active or not sexually active) and race with alcohol, marijuana and cigarette use among adolescents. Methods: Data for the study are from the 2009 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System. The analysis was carried out using a two-way Multivariate analysis of variance to test the hypothesis that sex status and race interact to influence alcohol, cigarettes and marijuana use. Results: A two-way MANOVA revealed that sexually active White and Black adolescents smoked more marijuana than non-sexually active White and Black adolescents (p<.0001). There was no difference between the number of days sexually active White and Black adolescents smoked marijuana (p>.0001). Sexually active White and Black adolescents smoked cigarettes on more days than their non-sexually active counterparts (p<.0001). Black adolescents consistently smoked fewer cigarettes than White adolescents regardless of sex status (p<.0001). Sexually active White and Black adolescent's consumed alcohol on more days than their non-sexually active counterparts (p<.0001). Black adolescents consistently consumed alcohol on fewer days than White adolescents regardless of sex status (p<.0001). Conclusions: These analyses suggest a distinct relationship between the interaction of sex status and race to cigarettes and alcohol but not marijuana use. It also reveals that regardless of race the rates of substance use are higher among sexually active adolescents. This progressive involvement in sexual activity may be an important indicator of substance use for adolescent interventions.