Quick Stats on Female Adolescents

*Note: All numbers in this report appear exactly as they did in the original sources.

I. ALCOHOL, TOBACCO, and ILLICIT DRUGS

Ninth-grade girls are more likely than twelfth-grade girls to be current inhalant users (6.4 percent versus 2.5 percent).¹
Ninth-grade girls (34.5 percent) and boys (45.6 percent) are more likely than twelfth-grade girls (17.5 percent) and boys (25.0 percent) to have drunk alcohol before age 13.²
From 1991-96, the rate of marijuana use among eighth-grade girls tripled. In 1991, 6.2 percent of eighth-grade girls reported using marijuana in the past 12 months. In 1996, 18.3 percent reported the same, reaching a peak. Since 1997, however, rates have been steadily declining. In 1997, 17.7 percent reported marijuana use in the past 12 months. In 1999, that rate fell to 16.5 percent. In 2001, this figure decreased once again to 15.4 percent. Finally, in 2002, 14.6 percent of eighth-grade girls reported using marijuana in the past 12 months.³
Among ninth graders, girls (23 percent) now binge drink at rates similar to boys (26.2 percent).⁴
More than 23 percent of ninth-grade girls reported using cigarettes within the past 30 days. This figure increased to 28.4 percent among tenth-grade girls.⁵ In addition, ninth-grade girls (23.9 percent) were significantly more likely than eleventh- and twelfth-grade girls (16.1 percent and 17.5 percent, respectively) to have smoked a whole cigarette before age 13.⁶
Between 1999 and 2001, the rate of cigarette use among females aged 12 to 17 decreased significantly, from 15.0 to 13.6 percent, although the change between 2000 and 2001 was not significant (14.1 to 13.6 percent). A similar pattern was seen among males between 1999 and 2001 (14.8 percent in 1999 to 12.8 percent in 2000 to 12.4 percent in 2001).⁷

II. SUICIDE and DEPRESSION

Stress and depression are related to smoking and drinking for girls. In the most recent survey measuring stress and smoking among girls, when asked why they smoked or drank, 66 percent of girls who reported smoking said they did so to relieve stress, and 36 percent who reported drinking said they did so because it helped them to forget problems. Girls with depressive symptoms or who reported abuse were even more likely to turn to drinking or smoking for relief.⁸
Girls in ninth through twelfth grade (34.5 percent) are significantly more likely than boys in the same grades (21.6 percent) to have felt sad or hopeless almost every day for at least 2 weeks.⁹
Tenth-grade girls (12.2 percent) were significantly more likely than tenth-grade boys (6.7 percent) to have attempted suicide.¹⁰
A girl's involvement in sports can reduce her chances of contemplating suicide or developing a suicide plan. When asked about suicide plans, 23 percent of nonathletes, 18 percent of athletes, and 14 percent of highly involved athletes had made a suicide plan.¹¹
The most recent survey conducted by The Commonwealth Fund on the health of adolescent girls shows that self-confidence and health ratings declined in high school for girls but not for boys. One in seven older girls registered low self-confidence, a sharp increase compared with the prevalence of low self-confidence among younger girls (14 percent of older girls vs. 9 percent of younger girls). Only 39 percent of older girls were highly confident, compared with 44 percent of younger girls. In contrast, self-confidence improved with age among boys, with more than half (55 percent) indicating they were highly confident by high school years.¹²
Twelve- to sixteen-year-old girls who are current drinkers were four times more likely than their nondrinking peers to suffer depression.¹³

III. SCHOOL VIOLENCE

In 2001, ninth-grade boys were more than four times as likely as ninth-grade girls (33.7 percent compared with 7.4 percent) to have carried a weapon¹⁴ and nearly four times as likely to have carried a weapon on school property (10.7 percent for ninth-grade boys compared with 2.9 percent for ninth-grade girls). In contrast, similar percentages of ninth-grade boys and girls felt too unsafe to go to school (9.6 percent of girls and 8.0 percent of boys).¹⁵ Although the numbers fluctuate somewhat, these trends continue throughout high school.
In 2001, ninth-grade boys (50.0 percent) were significantly more likely than ninth-grade girls (30.3 percent) to have been in a physical fight during the last 12 months. Ninth-grade boys (6.5 percent) were significantly more likely than ninth-grade girls (2.8 percent) to have been injured in a physical fight.¹⁶
In 2001, ninth- and tenth-grade girls were significantly more likely than twelfth-grade girls to report being threatened or injured with a weapon on school property in the past year (10.0 percent and 6.3 percent in the ninth and tenth grades, respectively, versus 3.0 percent in the twelfth grade).¹⁷

IV. PHYSICAL ACTIVITY

Girls are significantly less likely than boys to participate regularly in vigorous physical activity and on sports teams. Among high school students in 2001, 57 percent of girls participated regularly in vigorous physical activity compared with 72.6 percent of boys,¹⁸ and 49.9 percent of girls played on a sports team compared with 60.9 percent of boys.¹⁹
After the tenth grade, girls are significantly more likely than boys to report not engaging in vigorous or moderate physical activity (14.4 percent of eleventh-grade girls versus 7.8 percent of boys, and 15.2 percent of twelfth-grade girls versus 8.7 percent of boys). Among high school girls, blacks (16.9 percent) are significantly more likely than whites (10.2 percent) to report inactivity. ²⁰

V. NUTRITION and BODY IMAGE

In 2001, 62.1 percent of ninth-grade girls reported attempting to lose weight compared with 31.8 percent of ninth-grade boys.²¹
High school girls (12.6 percent) were significantly more likely than boys (5.5 percent) to have taken diet pills, powders, or liquids during the previous month to lose weight. In addition, high school girls were significantly more likely (7.8 percent) than boys (2.9 percent) to have taken laxatives or vomited to lose weight or avoid gaining weight.²²
All high school girls were significantly more likely (34.9 percent) than boys (23.3 percent) to think that they were overweight, but they were more than twice as likely (62.3 percent) as boys (28.8 percent) to be currently trying to lose weight. Among boys, a significant difference in the percentage perceiving themselves as overweight compared to the percentage trying to lose weight is observed only among ninth graders (23.7 percent compared to 31.8 percent).²³
Girls who are involved in sports are less likely to consider themselves overweight. In 2000, 27 percent of female athletes thought they were overweight, compared with 40 percent of nonathletic girls.²⁴

VI. RISKY BEHAVIOR

The United States has the highest teen pregnancy rate among developed countries. About 1 million teens become pregnant each year; 80 percent of those pregnancies are unintended, and almost 50 percent end in abortions.²⁵
In 2001, 19.9 percent of ninth-grade girls were currently sexually active (including the 3 months preceding the survey) versus 51 percent of twelfth-grade girls. In addition, 5.4 percent of ninth-grade girls had engaged in sexual intercourse before the age of 13, compared to 2.2 percent of twelfth-grade girls.²⁶
One of every three girls had engaged in sex by age 16, and two out of three had by age 18.²⁷
In 2001, 24.5 percent of sexually active ninth-grade girls had used alcohol or drugs during their last sexual intercourse.²⁸
In the United States each year, nearly 4 in 10 young women—nearly 1 million a year—become pregnant at least once before they reach the age of 20.²⁹ Eighty percent of these pregnancies are unintended,³⁰and 79 percent are to unmarried teens.³¹

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