DIFFERENT TREATMENT URGED FOR ADDICTED GIRLS

Washington (AP) - Girls and young women get hooked on cigarettes, alcohol
and drugs more quickly and for different reasons than boys, and should
receive specialized treatment that reflects that, according to a study
released Wednesday.

Teenage girls often begin smoking and drinking to relieve stress or
alleviate depression, while boys do it for thrills or heightened social
status. according to the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse a
Colombia University.

"(Girls) get hooked faster, they get hooked using lesser amounts of alcohol
and drugs and cocaine, and they suffer the consequences faster and more
severely, said Joseph A. Califano Jr., chairman of the center.

Califano said prevention and treatment centers need to design their
programs to deal with the risk factors leading the female substance abuse.

"Withe some exceptions, the substance abuse prevention programs have really
been designed with a unisex, one-size-fits-both-sexes mentality," said
Califano. who served as health and human services secretary under President
Carter. "We now know that girls are different than boys - let's recognize
it and let's help them."

the study, based on a nation-wide survey of more than 1,200 females ages 8
to 22, found little difference in the percentage of boys and girls who
smoke, drink and use drugs.

Approximately 45 percent of high school girls drink alcohol, compared with
49 percent of boys, and girls outpace boys in the use of prescription
drugs, the study found.

Researchers found that girls are also more likely to abuse substances if
they reached puberty early, had eating disorders or were ever physically or
sexually abused. Their likelihood of using cigarettes, alcohol or drugs
also increases if their families move often or when girls advance from
middle school to high school, or from high school to college.