Mental Health
Top Students Are More Prone To Drinking And Smoking Pot
Studies reveal that top performing students are more likely to smoke pot and drink beer. Teenagers with high test scores in the UK are less likely to smoke cigarettes, but they are more prone to drinking and smoking weed.
A study published in the British Medical Journal pointed out that teens with higher test scores are more likely to smoke pot and drink beer, compared to their peers. James Williams and Gareth Hagger-Johnson, the co-authors of the study, said that this substance consumption can potentially be carried on to adulthood.
The researchers studied 6,000 students from public and private schools across England. It was mentioned that they tracked the students' tobacco and pot consumption and compared them with the teenagers' test results. It was then revealed that those who scored high on tests were less likely to smoke cigarettes, while those who smoked pot got higher test scores.
Aside from smoking, the researchers also came with the results on alcohol consumption. The test results revealed that those who were on their late teenage stage have higher test scores. Despite having outstanding test results, however, they are more likely to consume alcohol compared to their peers, as mentioned by the CNN.
The researchers pointed out that academically gifted students are said to be twice as likely to use pot. Fifty percent of teenagers who managed to acquire higher test scores are said to smoke pot occasionally compared to their peers.
Peer pressure is said to be one of the factors that influence marijuana consumption and alcohol binge among teenagers regardless of the test scores. Dr. Amir Levine, a Psychiatr mentioned, despite revealing higher test scores, more study needs to be done in regards to the correlation between marijuana and alcohol consumption and higher cognitive capacity.
"The cigarette smoking findings are consistent with the literature (students with lower academic standing being more likely to smoke)," Levine wrote in an email. "So these results are somewhat inconsistent with previous results; however, they are not entirely surprising, have different views of smokers and drinkers."
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