Teenagers talk up their drug use

A fifth of teenagers say that peer pressure leads young people
to pretend to take drugs, according to a report from drugs
information service Frank.

Boys are twice as likely to say they have taken drugs when they
have not and teenagers in the south east are more prone to talking
up their behaviour, says the report, which asked more than a
thousand 11-18-year-olds about how they present themselves as part
of the group they have chosen to belong to.

Three quarters of 11-13-year-olds said that young people try
drugs to impress their friends, while 15 per cent of
14-16-year-olds felt that it helped young people to
“pull”.

Peter Marsh, director of the Social Issues Research Centre at
Oxford and the report’s author, said that people define
themselves through social bonds and affiliations.

“During our teenage years we often find ourselves under
pressure to conform but also feel the need to strike out and assert
our individuality,” he said.