The Partnership Attitude Tracking Study (PATS):  Teens 2008 Report, Partnership for a Drug-Free America, February 2009

The Partnership’s national survey shows the first major increase in the number of teens revealing they are learning a lot about the risks of drugs from their parents; however teens report that their parents are still not discussing the dangers of prescription and over-the-counter drug abuse. 

• 37 percent of teens reported learning a lot about the risks of drugs from their parents, a 16 percent increase from the previous year and the first major increase since the inception of the study.
• Only 24 percent of teens reported that their parents talked with them about the dangers of prescription drugs or use of medications outside of a doctor’s supervision.
• Only 18 percent of teens say their parents discuss the risks of abusing over-the-counter cough medicine.

The study also revealed that there is a correlation between increased teen exposure to anti-drug messages on television and a decreased likelihood of trying drugs over the past ten years.  Four out of ten teens agreed that anti-drug messages made them more aware of the risks of using drugs and less likely to try the drugs.

The survey also highlights the significant decrease in the use of marijuana and methamphetamine use over the past several years.   

• Methamphetamine use by teens experienced a steep three-year drop, with past-month use down 3 percent, a significant 25 percent decline versus 2005. 
• Teens attitudes about the risks of methamphetamine use confirmed this drop - 83 percent of teens see great risk in using methamphetamine regularly, 85 percent see great risk in getting hooked on methamphetamine and 54 percent see trying methamphetamine once or twice as very risky.
• Although still the most widely abused drug, marijuana use has been declining for a decade.  Past-year use is down 24 percent since 1998, and past-month use is down 30 percent since 1998.
• Teen attitudes reflect a growing social disapproval of marijuana use, with 35 percent of teens agreeing strongly that they “don’t want to hang around with anyone who uses marijuana,” up from 28 percent in 1998.

Abuse of prescription and over-the-counter medicines among teens continues to be a concern. 

• One in five teens (19 percent or 4.7 million) reports abusing a prescription medication at least once in their lives;
• One in ten teens (10 percent or 2.5 million) teens reports having abused a prescription pain reliever in the past year;
• Seven percent (1.7 million) of teens have abused over-the-counter cough medicine in the past year, however teens perception of the risk of using it to get high increased.
• Forty-one percent of teens mistakenly believe that abuse of prescription and over-the-counter drugs is less dangerous than abuse of illegal drugs;
• Sixty-one percent of teens report prescription drugs are easier to get than illegal drugs, up from 58 percent in 2005.