Girlhood gone wild: Drinking, drug use grow

WASHINGTON — She lost count of the vodka shots. It was New Year's Eve 2005, and for this high-school freshman, it was time to party. She figured she'd be able to sleep it off — she'd done it before. But by the time she got home the next day, her head was still pounding, her mouth was dry, and she couldn't focus. This time, the symptoms were obvious even to her parents.

After that night, she realized the weekend buzzes had gone from being a maybe to a must.

"Before, it was a novelty," the Silver Spring, Md., teen said. "It went from, 'Well, maybe ... ' to 'Oh, I know I'm going to drink this weekend.' "

A generation of parents and educators have pushed to ensure that girls have the same opportunities as their male counterparts, with notable results. In 2007, for example, it was girls who dominated the national math and science competition sponsored by Siemens. But a growing number of reports show that the message of equality might have a downside.

Teenage girls now equal or outpace teenage boys in alcohol consumption, drug use and smoking, national surveys show. The number of girls entering the juvenile-justice system has risen steadily over the past few years. A 2006 study that examined accident rates among young drivers noted that although boys get into more car accidents, girls are slowly beginning to close the gap.

"When you take off the shackles, you release all kind of energy — negative and positive," said James Garbarino, the Maude C. Clarke chair in humanistic psychology at Loyola University in Chicago. "By letting girls loose to experience America more fully, it's not surprising that they would absorb some of its toxic environment."

The teen with the vodka hangover, now 16, was one of several teen girls who agreed to talk about their lives and what compels them to drink, smoke or indulge in behaviors that might make their parents blanch. They asked that their names not be used so they could speak frankly.

In the same breath, the young women talked about feeling "empowered" because they can choose from myriad colleges and careers, and about how that "freedom" extends to partying at clubs, drinking and smoking. Experts worry that those feelings, coupled with a teen's natural sense of invincibility, can be a potent and dangerous combination. Indeed, the teenage girls interviewed by The Washington Post seemed almost blasé about the potential consequences.

"People tell me all the time [smoking] isn't good for me," said an 18-year-old from Bethesda, Md., rolling her eyes. But in her mind, that's 30 years down the line. Same with the drinking (she prefers champagne) and the occasional recreational drug.

"In the past, people have had this angelic picture, but girls are just as bad as boys are," she said. "We do what we want to do, when we want to do it."

"I live for now," she said, a grin spreading across her face. "It's great to be a girl."

Dramatic change

Experts say there is no single explanation for why more teenage girls are deciding to experiment with drugs or why some are getting into fights. However, they do note that society's expectations about girlhood have changed dramatically over the years. Annette Funicello's wholesome beach-blanket antics have given way to Britney Spears' latest meltdown.

"The why of what's happening is in part a direct response to the advances that we're making as a society around gender equity," said Deborah Prothrow-Stith, a professor of public health at Harvard University. If society offers girls and boys the same opportunities, that means they're exposed to the bad as well as the good, she said.

"We really have to ask the questions, 'Why wouldn't you expect girls to behave [like boys]?' Girls and women are closing all the other gaps," Prothrow-Stith said.

Experts who work with teenage girls say more options also can mean more stress. "Our lives are so crazy, and kids are looking for something when they feel" stressed, said Beverly Parker-Lewis, a clinical psychologist with the Fairfax County, Va., public schools. "Sometimes, the result is negative behavior."

Girls "work so hard to prove themselves all the time," said Christine Whitaker, a therapist with Metropolitan Counseling Associates in Bethesda, Md. "Then, when the weekend comes, they blow it all out."

And teenagers are surrounded by a mix of messages. On one hand, their parents and teachers tell them not to drink, smoke or do drugs, but on the other hand, music and such television shows as "Gossip Girl" and "The Hills" showcase teens indulging in just such behavior.

Worrisome findings

According to a 2006 survey by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, girls between the ages of 12 and 17 were at equal or higher risk of substance abuse compared with boys. That same year, the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy found that the number of girls who smoke or abuse prescription drugs had surpassed that of boys. More troubling: The increase in drug usage among girls comes at a time when overall numbers for teenage drug abuse are on the decline.

A recent study, conducted by emergency-medicine physicians at the Center for Trauma and Injury Prevention Research at the University of California, Irvine, medical school, examined accident rates of young drivers between 2000 and 2004 and found that although boys had more accidents, young female drivers seemed to be closing the gap.

Rebecca Kullback, a colleague of Whitaker's who is co-founder of Metropolitan Counseling Associates in Bethesda, said parents need to rethink the messages they're sending their daughters and teach them how to better manage their stresses. Other experts say that those who work with adolescents need to better tailor intervention programs to be effective for girls as well as boys.

But the real challenge of reaching the teen-girl demographic might be convincing girls that their behavior could have consequences — if not now, down the line.

When asked why they drink, the 18-year-old and a friend paused for a moment before summing up the appeal in one succinct statement: "Life," the 18-year-old declared, as her friend chimed in, "is better with a buzz."