An article in Reuters Health on October 16, 2007 by Joene Hendry indicated that there is a link between incarcerated teenagers attempting suicide and huffing or bagging. I don’t know about you, but when I read, the word huffing it made me think of asthma and the Three Little Pigs story. When I read the word bagging, I thought about the person bagging my groceries at the store. However, in the world of the teenager both huffing and bagging, refer to inhaling household solvents like cleaning products or glue.

Dr. Stacey Freedenthal, at the University of Denver, Colorado, and colleagues interviewed 723 boys and girls. The teenagers were on average 15 years old and were in residential rehabilitation with the Missouri Division of Youth Services in 2003. The team took into account the emotional problems of the teenagers as well as other drug use, but still found that use of inhalants was the strongest indicator of suicidal tendencies.

Of the teenagers interviewed, one-third had inhaled volatile solvents and one quarter had attempted suicide. Girls were significantly more likely to report thinking about suicide and 51 percent of them had actually attempted suicide.

Of the boys interviewed, 22 percent had attempted suicide. The research team felt that these statistics about the relationship between inhalant use and suicide would hold true for the general population as well.

Apparently, 40 percent of the girls interviewed who had not used inhalants had thought about attempting suicide as well. More alarming is that 81 percent of the girls, who were classified as inhalant dependent, reported previous suicidal thoughts or attempts, and 59 percent of boys.

If you are considering older child adoption, or you have already adopted an older child, then you need to be aware of this type of getting high. Children in the system are street smart and many are looking for ways to forget their problems.

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Other blogs on teen issues include:
How to Choose a Psychiatrist
What Contributes to Eating Disorders?
Bulimia in Children
Herpes - Common STDs Your Teenager Should Know About
Immunization for Cervical Cancer


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