Sex differences in indicators of well-being in adolescents

The 1999 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, administered to 964 females and 852 males in randomly selected high schools in a midwestern state, indicated significantly greater negative indicators of mental and physical well-being for adolescent girls than adolescent boys. Results of the 1997 survey finding that significantly more adolescent girls reported engaging in several high risk sexual and drug behaviors such as having their first drink of alcohol at an earlier age, driving a vehicle in the past 30 days when they had been drinking, smoking at an earlier age, smoking more cigarettes per day, and using over-the-counter drugs to get high more often, were supported and enlarged.