Sex, substance use make teens feel older

EDMONTON, Alberta, June 20 (UPI) -- Dating, smoking, sex and substance use make teens feel older than they really are, according to a University of Alberta study.

Study co-author Kelly Arbeau, a doctoral student in psychology at the University of Alberta in Edmonton with assistance from the University of Victoria, surveyed a random sample of nearly 700 teens ages 12 to 19 from a medium-sized North American city and asked them questions about dating, sexual experience, smoking, alcohol and drug use.

Specific behaviors such as boys' smoking and higher drug and alcohol use in both sexes have an effect on adolescents' self-perceived age, according to Arbeau.

"For example, having an older dating partner seems to give a teen a higher subjective experience of age," Arbeau said in a statement. "So, when teens are having sex and their peers aren't, it can make them feel more adult, more mature than their non-experienced counterparts."

The study, published in the Journal of Adolescence, also reported that girls were more likely feel older than boys.