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Sex, Drugs, and Alcohol

Sex, Drugs, and Alcohol. In Adolescence. Michael Hoerger. Sex Facts. 25% by age 14 50% by age 17 90% by age 21 Pregnancy before age 16: Increased risk of complications 1/6 couples are infertile, primarily due to untreated STIs. Sexually Transmitted Infections.

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Sex, Drugs, and Alcohol

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  1. Sex, Drugs, and Alcohol In Adolescence Michael Hoerger

  2. Sex Facts • 25% by age 14 • 50% by age 17 • 90% by age 21 • Pregnancy before age 16: Increased risk of complications • 1/6 couples are infertile, primarily due to untreated STIs

  3. Sexually Transmitted Infections • Higher risk in adolescence due to weaker immune systems, multiple partners, not using condoms • Most with STIs have no symptoms • Curable: Chlamydia, gonorrhea, syphilis • Life-long: Herpes, HPV, HIV • > 50% lifetime STI rate • 25% lifetime herpes rate (90% w/o signs)

  4. Sex Myths • “I can’t get pregnant” • Preventing STIs is effective if… • Using birth control pills, pulling out/showering/ brushing teeth/peeing, not having noticeable signs, seeming like a “nice person” • Preventing Pregnancy is effective if… • Sex during menstruation, showering • Early pregnancy OR abortion have drastic negative long-term outcomes • Abstinence programs are most effective

  5. Drugs “Here and everywhere else, we all use drugs: aspirin; coffee; tea; vitamins. How do we define a drug? That’s become a political concept too. It’s no longer a pharmacological concept. Caffeine is certainly one of the most powerful drugs; Coca-Cola Company fills its drinks full of caffeine and it is being sold to children in schools and they become hyperactive. Wonder of wonders!” – Szasz

  6. Drugs • Gateway drugs: cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana; increase risk for harder drug use

  7. Drugs • Minor drug or alcohol use is normal; related to better long-term psychological outcomes than no use • Alcohol: impairs decision making (15x the risk for car accidents) • Tobacco: stunts growth, highly addictive • Marijuana: slows thinking and reasoning

  8. Harder Drugs • Cocaine (stimulant): heart and respiratory problems, paranoia, overdose • Heroin (opioid): overdose • Most problems result from these drugs being illegal • Turf wars, stealing/fencing to afford drugs, intravenous drug use, withdrawal • $100 of heroin could be made for pennies/day • Stimulants like caffeine, Ritalin, nicotine, and cocaine differ mainly in degree

  9. Drugs and Discrimination • “We do our bodies more damage, more irreversible damage, by smoking cigarettes and drinking liquor than by using heroin” – Reiman • “To cast the problem of psychiatric drug use into the problem of drug use in general is more honest and realistic and should enable each person to make a more informed choice” – Lewontin et al.

  10. Drugs and Discrimination • Marijuana laws began in the 1930s to discriminate against Mexican Americans • Cocaine became popular among the white upper class in the 1970s; crack among low SES in the 1980s • Mandatory 5-year sentence for 500 grams of powder cocaine OR 5 grams of crack • Crack offenders: 86% black, 5% white

  11. Michael Hoerger To cite this lecture: • Hoerger, M. (2007, March 12). Sex, Drugs, and Alcohol. Presented at a PSY 220 lecture at Central Michigan University.

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