Teen's actions lead to depression

Proverb 11:27 (NLT)
27 If you search for good, you will find favor; but if you search for evil, it will find you!

In this proverb King Solomon tells us those who endeavor to do good reap both the favor of men and God. This is a person of love and kindness. They search out opportunities to serve their fellow man and in doing so find the favor of others blanketed upon them. However there are also those who seek our evil. It does not take long to find evil for evil comes to them quickly.

A popular belief among doctors and social scientists has been that many teens begin drug use and sexual activity to deal with depression. However, a study published in the October 2005 edition of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine reverses those beliefs. Health policy researcher Denise Dion-Hallfors comments: "Findings from the study show depression came after substance and sexual activity, not the other way around." The data was gathered from a national survey of 13,491 adolescents. A large group of these teens, about 25 percent, were called "abstainers." They had never had sex, smoked, drank alcohol, or taken drugs. Only 4 percent of these teens experienced depression. The study also reported that girls among the 75 percent who had taken drugs and experimented with sex were 2–3 times more likely to experience depression than abstaining girls. Boys who engaged in binge drinking were 4.5 times more likely to experience depression than boys in the abstaining group. Boys smoking marijuana were more than 3 times more likely to be depressed than those who abstained. Dr. Hallfors warns: "Parents, educators, and health practitioners now have even more reason to be concerned about teen risk behaviors, and to take action about alcohol, drugs, and sex." [Taunya English, "Teen Sex and Drug Use May Be Cause of Depression, Not the Effect," Health Behavior News Service (September 2005)]