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VANCOUVER – A University of B.C. study suggests teenagers are trading sex for drugs and alcohol at a low but steady rate, yet the vast majority of them attend school and live at home with their parents.

The study focuses on identifying sexual exploitation and the harms associated with unhealthy sexual relationships.

It examined students in Grades 7 to 12 from 28 schools in the East Kootenays region of eastern B.C., but its author says the findings are in line with studies conducted in Quebec, the U.S. and Oslo, Norway.

Elizabeth Saewyc (Say-wic) says the UBC study found that just over two per cent of teens who have ever tried alcohol, marijuana or other drugs have also traded sex for those substances.

She says the research showed that the kind of relationship students had with their parents impacted whether they were likely to engage in the unhealthy exchange.

Saewyc says parents who talk with their teens about good romantic relationships can positively influence their children’s decisions.

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