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CHAPEL HILL, N.C., March 22 (UPI) -- Teen girls who enter puberty early and have an older boyfriend are at higher risk for substance abuse and sexual activity, found a U.S. study.
A nationally representative sample of about 4,000 adolescents under 15 were tracked via follow-up surveys during the 1994-1995 school year.
The study, published in the journal Prevention Science, found girls who have an older boyfriend appear to be at an extra risk for multiple high-risk behaviors, such as intravenous drug use, marijuana use and sexual intercourse.
One in five of the girls in the study who started maturing earlier reported having a romantic partner who was older, compared to only one in 25 males who matured early.
"Parents of all teenagers have a responsibility for talking to their children and guiding them through romantic relationships and the risks of drug use," Carolyn Tucker Halpern of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Public Health said in a statement.
"But this study shows that parents of girls who reach puberty ahead of the peers and who have an older boyfriend should take a special interest."
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