Cheerful mood (finding) Happy Teens Usually Crime-Free Teens,
Study Finds Even a low level of depression seemed to help push
adolescents to illegal activity MONDAY, Aug. 22 (HealthDay News)
-- A new study helps support the notion that happy young teens
are more likely to avoid crime. To reach this finding,
researchers at the University of California, Davis analyzed 1995
and 1996 data from nearly 15,000 students in grades 7 to 9.
About 29 percent of the students said they'd committed at least
one criminal offense and 18 percent said they had used at least
one illegal drug. The researchers, who used data from the
National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health, then looked at
the students' self-reported levels of emotional well-being. They
found that those who said they were happier were less likely to
commit crimes or use drugs. The team also found that youth with
even minor depression were much more likely to be involved in
criminal activity or drug use. And while most adolescents have
periods of happiness a