References

These studies, data, and trusted resources include both the research cited across our pages and the original sources used to build each section.

Adolescent Brain & Development

  • Klein-Baer, R. (2025, March). How to model healthy coping skills. Child Mind Institute. Source
  • Levpušček, M. P. (2006). Adolescent individuation in relation to parents and friends: Age and gender differences. European Journal of Developmental Psychology, 3(3), 238–264. Source
  • Scientific American. (n.d.). The amazing teen brain. Source
  • UCLA Center for the Developing Adolescent. (n.d.). The science behind adolescent risk taking and exploration. Source
  • PBS Frontline. (n.d.). Adolescent brains are works in progress. Source

Parenting, Communication & Prevention

  • UCLA Center for the Developing Adolescent. (n.d.). What science tells us about parenting an adolescent. Source
  • Resnick, M. D., Bearman, P. S., Blum, R. W., Bauman, K. E., Harris, K. M., Jones, J., Tabor, J., Beuhring, T., Sieving, R. E., Shew, M., Ireland, M., Bearinger, L. H., & Udry, J. R. (1997). Protecting adolescents from harm: Findings from the National Longitudinal Study on Adolescent Health. JAMA, 278(10), 823–832. Source
  • Mills, R., Mann, M. J., Smith, M. L., et al. (2021). Parental support and monitoring as associated with adolescent alcohol and tobacco use by gender and age. BMC Public Health, 21, 2000. Source
  • Berge, J., Sundell, K., Öjehagen, A., et al. (2016). Role of parenting styles in adolescent substance use: Results from a Swedish longitudinal cohort study. BMJ Open, 6, e008979. Source
  • ScienceDirect. (n.d.). Parental monitoring. Source
  • Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (n.d.). Why it's important to talk to your child about alcohol and drugs. Source
  • Get Smart About Drugs. (n.d.). Tips for talking to youth. U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. Source
  • Drug Free Kids Canada. (n.d.). Make your drug safety conversations appropriate to your child's age. Source
  • Grant, B. F., & Dawson, D. A. (1997). Age at onset of alcohol use and its association with DSM-IV alcohol abuse and dependence. Journal of Substance Abuse, 9, 103–110. Source
  • McMorris, B. J., et al. (2011). Influence of family factors and supervised alcohol use on adolescent alcohol use and harms. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 72(3), 418–428. Source
  • Yap, M. B. H., et al. (2017). Modifiable parenting factors associated with adolescent alcohol misuse: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Addiction, 112(7), 1142–1162. Source
  • Mattick, R. P., et al. (2018). Association of parental supply of alcohol with adolescent drinking, alcohol-related harms, and alcohol use disorder symptoms. The Lancet Public Health, 3(2), e64–e71. Source
  • Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD). (n.d.). Parents influence teens' drinking decisions (survey). Partnership to End Addiction. Source
  • Bohm, M. K., & Esser, M. B. (2023). Associations between parental drinking and alcohol use among their adolescent children: Findings from a national survey of United States parent-child dyads. Journal of Adolescent Health, 73, 961–964. Source
  • Marino, C., et al. (2018). Parents' drinking motives and problem drinking predict their children's drinking motives, alcohol use and substance misuse. Addictive Behaviors, 84. Source

Mental Health

  • Stoewen, D. L. (2022). Nature, nurture, and mental health Part 1: The influence of genetics, psychology, and biology. The Canadian Veterinary Journal, 63(4), 427–430. Source
  • Pfeifer, J. H., & Allen, N. B. (2021). Puberty initiates cascading relationships between neurodevelopmental, social, and internalizing processes across adolescence. Biological Psychiatry, 89(2), 99–108. Source
  • Byrne, M. L., Whittle, S., Vijayakumar, N., Dennison, M., Simmons, J. G., & Allen, N. B. (2017). A systematic review of adrenarche as a sensitive period in neurobiological development and mental health. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 25, 12–28. Source (Erratum: Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 45, 100845. Source)
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024, November 29). Health disparities among LGBTQ youth. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Source
  • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2024, October). Adverse childhood experiences (ACEs). U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Source
  • Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2023, April 24). Mental health and substance use co-occurring disorders. U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Source
  • McDonald, A. J., Kurdyak, P., Rehm, J., Roerecke, M., & Bondy, S. J. (2024). Age-dependent association of cannabis use with risk of psychotic disorder. Psychological Medicine, 54(11), 2926–2936. Source
  • Hines, L. A., Freeman, T. P., Gage, S. H., Zammit, S., Hickman, M., & Heron, J. (2020). Association of high-potency cannabis use with mental health and substance use in adolescence. JAMA Psychiatry, 77(10), 1044–1051. Source
  • Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. (2016, March). Substance use and suicide: A nexus requiring a public health approach (SMA 16-4935). U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. Source
  • Marin County Health & Human Services. (2022). Compassion to action: A community guide to suicide prevention and support in Marin County. Source

Substances

Youth Use Trends
  • Miech, R. A., Patrick, M. E., O'Malley, P. M., Jager, J., & Jang, J. B. (2026). Monitoring the Future national survey results on drug use, 1975–2025: Overview and detailed results for secondary school students. Institute for Social Research, University of Michigan. Source
Alcohol
  • Hammerton, G., Lewis, G., Heron, J., Fernandes, G., Hickman, M., & Lewis, G. (2023). The association of alcohol dependence and consumption during adolescence with depression in young adulthood, in England: A prospective cohort study. The Lancet Psychiatry, 10(7), 490–498. Source
  • Hjarnaa, L., Møller, S. P., Curtis, A. B., Becker, U., Andersen, O., Torvik, F. A., & Tolstrup, J. S. (2023). Alcohol intake and academic performance and dropout in high school: A prospective cohort study in 65,233 adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Health, 73(6), 1083–1092. Source
Cannabis
  • Young-Wolff, K. C., et al. (2026). Adolescent cannabis use and risk of psychotic and bipolar disorders. JAMA Health Forum. Source
  • Gobbi, G., et al. (2019). Association of cannabis use in adolescence and risk of depression, anxiety, and suicidality in young adulthood. JAMA Psychiatry, 76(4), 426–434. Source
  • Chan, O., Daudi, A., Ji, D., et al. (2024). Cannabis use during adolescence and young adulthood and academic achievement: A systematic review and meta-analysis. JAMA Pediatrics, 178(12), 1280–1289. Source
  • Bailey, J. A., Hill, K. G., Hawkins, J. D., Catalano, R. F., & Abbott, R. D. (2020). Marijuana legalization and youth marijuana, alcohol, and cigarette use and norms. American Journal of Preventive Medicine, 59(3), 309–316. Source
  • Stuyt, E. (2018). The problem with the current high potency THC marijuana from the perspective of an addiction psychiatrist. Missouri Medicine, 115(6), 482–486. Source
  • Jager, G., & Ramsey, N. F. (2008). Long-term consequences of adolescent cannabis exposure on the development of cognition, brain structure and function: An overview of animal and human research. Current Drug Abuse Reviews, 1(2), 114–123. Source
Nicotine
  • News-Medical. (2025, February 20). Younger people more susceptible to nicotine addiction than middle-aged adults. Source
  • Ren, M., & Lotfipour, S. (2019). Nicotine gateway effects on adolescent substance use. Western Journal of Emergency Medicine, 20(5), 696–709. Source
  • Yuan, M., Cross, S. J., Loughlin, S. E., & Leslie, F. M. (2015). Nicotine and the adolescent brain. The Journal of Physiology, 593(16), 3397–3412. Source
  • Barik, J. (2025). Adolescent nicotine exposure and persistent neurocircuitry changes: Unveiling lifelong psychiatric risks. Molecular Psychiatry, 30(11), 5534–5545. Source
  • U.S. Food and Drug Administration. (n.d.). Youth and tobacco. Source
  • U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the Surgeon General. (n.d.). Preventing tobacco use among youth [Fact sheet]. Source
  • Keck School of Medicine of USC. (2025). Use of nicotine pouches increases significantly among U.S. teens. Source
Psychedelics
  • Armanino-Irigaray, M., Catalán, A., Aymerich, C., et al. (2026). Unusual experiences and early-onset psychosis associated to hallucinogen use in adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health, 20, 56. Source
  • Shah, K., Trivedi, C., Kamrai, D., Akbar, M., & Tankersley, W. (2022). Association of psilocybin use in adolescents with major depressive episode [Conference abstract]. European Psychiatry, 65(S1), S329. Source
  • Sjöström, D., Claesdotter-Knutsson, E., & Kajonius, P. (2026). Adverse outcomes following psychedelic use in adolescents and adults: Associations with age and personality traits. Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health, 20, 32. Source
Fentanyl & Opioids
  • Friedman, J., & Hadland, S. E. (2024). The overdose crisis among U.S. adolescents. New England Journal of Medicine, 390(2), 97–100. Source
  • U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. (n.d.). One pill can kill. Source
  • Song for Charlie. (n.d.). Counterfeit pills and fentanyl among youth. Source

Images & Media

  • Stanford REACH Lab Youth Action Board [@stanfordreachyab]. (2025, March 4). [Photograph of Youth Action Board members at an outreach event] [Instagram post]. Instagram. Source