NCJ Number
124424
Date Published
1986
Length
10 pages
Annotation
Both morbidity and mortality rates for adolescents are 11 percent higher today than they were 20 years ago.
Abstract
Multiple factors have a role in this problem. Two-thirds of American youth use an illicit drug before they finish high school, and one in five high school seniors smoke cigarettes daily. One in 16 high school seniors drinks alcoholic beverages daily, and 41 percent report that they have consumed five or more drinks on one occasion. Teenage mothers account for 46 percent of all births to unmarried women and a third of all abortions. Twenty-four percent of all fatalities and 41 percent of all serious injuries in reported cases of physical abuse involve persons aged 12 to 17. Six percent of all boys and 15 percent of girls experience sexual abuse by the age of 16. Five thousand persons under age 19 commit suicide each year, and fifty thousand attempt it. Adolescents are responsible for a third of all violent crimes. Finally, 80 percent of deaths in 15-to-24-year-olds are secondary to accidents, suicides, and homicides. These problems have deep and complex roots and will yield to no simple solutions. (Author abstract modified)