Kids on both sides of the Atlantic are smoking less pot and going out less often with friends at night, a study of 15-year-olds in 30 countries has found.
The double declines occurred in the United States, Canada and mostly European countries from 2002 to 2006.
The trends are likely related, since other research has found that kids who spend many evenings out are more likely to smoke dope than homebodies.
Since few parents approve of marijuana use, teens are most likely to use the drug secretly away from home, said lead author Emmanuel Kuntsche of the Swiss Institute for the Prevention of Alcohol and Drug Problems.
Reasons for the declines are unclear. But the researchers said drug prevention efforts and technology may have contributed.
Instant messaging, e-mail and cellphones “may have partly replaced face-to-face contacts, leading to fewer social contacts in the evenings,” Kuntsche said.
The study appears in February’s Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, released yesterday.
The researchers analyzed data on 93,297 15-year-olds from periodic health surveys in dozens of countries conducted in collaboration with the World Health Organization.
Survey questionnaires were distributed to entire classrooms at various schools, asking various health-related questions including about marijuana use and evenings out with friends in the past year. Responses to 2006 surveys were compared with those in 2002.
Users were kids who’d tried marijuana at least once in the past year.
Marijuana use increased only in Estonia, Lithuania and Malta, and among Russian girls.
The United States ranked third in 2006, with 24 percent of boys and girls each reporting marijuana use. That was down 12 percentage points among boys and 2 percentage points among girls, echoing previous reports of declining pot use among American teens.
Average number of evenings out also decreased in most countries. In the United States, nights out fell slightly to about twice a week in 2006 for boys and girls.
An Archives editorial said that while evenings out may increase chances for marijuana use, parents shouldn’t discourage socializing since teens need time away from home to gain independence.
Instead, the editorial advises, parents to steer kids to activities that don’t encourage drug use.