Early school success protects against teen and young adult drug use (PDF; 662 KB)
Source: Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan

Adolescents who do well in school are less likely to smoke, drink or do drugs. But which comes first: drug use or school failure?

A new book by researchers at the University of Michigan Institute for Social Research (ISR) provides an answer. Patterns of educational success or failure are well established for most adolescents by the time they reach the end of eighth grade, while drug use has only begun to emerge by that time.

When more opportunities for substance use do emerge, students already doing well in school are less likely to engage in such behaviors, whereas those doing poorly are more likely to do so, the researchers say.

Extended press release includes graphs and statistics.