Are antisocial teens at a greater risk of dying young?
| Aug 14, 2018, 16:36 IST
A recent study has found that teens who are more prone to substance abuse which also leads to antisocial behaviour are more likely to die young. The research found that as compared to their peers, such people with roughly one in 20 had a chance of dying as early as in their 30's. "This research makes it clear that youth identified with conduct problems are at extreme risk for premature mortality, beyond that which can be explained by substance use problems, and in critical need of greater resources," said Richard Border, a graduate student at the University of Colorado Boulder in the US.
"To see detailed, hard data from a cohort of adolescents we have been interviewing face-to-face over the years really makes tangible the dangers that these youth are facing as they go into adulthood," said John Hewitt, director at Institute for Behavioral Genetics (IBG). "It's a strikingly poor outcome and should be a major public health concern," Hewitt said. "We pay a lot of attention to substance use and it is definitely important, but we don't put as much attention on rule breaking. Perhaps we should," said Hewitt.
"To see detailed, hard data from a cohort of adolescents we have been interviewing face-to-face over the years really makes tangible the dangers that these youth are facing as they go into adulthood," said John Hewitt, director at Institute for Behavioral Genetics (IBG). "It's a strikingly poor outcome and should be a major public health concern," Hewitt said. "We pay a lot of attention to substance use and it is definitely important, but we don't put as much attention on rule breaking. Perhaps we should," said Hewitt.