<title>Jay's World of Abstracts 00020: The Case for Youth Empowerment</title>

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<title>Jay's World of Abstracts 00020: The Case for Youth Empowerment</title>
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content="An abstarct of research on problems facing teens that Youth Empowerment could help prevent.">
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<h2 align="right">Jay's World of Abstracts 00020</h2><hr>
<div align="center"><h1>The Case for Youth Empowerment</h1>
(Author Unknown) 
Gleaned from the servers at Florida State University</div>
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[Standard disclaimer: The nature of abstracts are that they are pieces of something larger. Not everyone is going to be happy with my choice of abstracts from any larger work, so if you are dissatisfied, I would refer you to the original document, which should be able to be found on the Internet. I encourage others to make their own abstracts to satisfy their needs. I would be happy to publish them here.
<h3>Jay's Introduction</h3>
Normally, I don't put up abstracts that I can't find an author for. I made an exception this time because most of the research is annotated and this is just an excellent piece.
Youth Empowerment says that kids can actually choose to do what they want. It gets really easy for us to look at statistics and see these kids as sheep moving along a pre-determined course toward dilinquency and failure which only the influence of powerful external forces can possibly stop. If we painted that picture, perhaps teen rebellion will put them on a better course! The point is that youths can be in control of their lives and make good choices just because they want to!
This abstract outlines the problems that youth empowerment hopes to address.

I produced this abstract using time paid for by the Quay County Maternal Child and Community Health Council with funds from the New Mexico Department of Health.
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<h3>Abstracts</h3>

Today's youth are at risk for a variety of negative public-
health and health-related conditions. Professionals in public health and
medicine generally agree that most of the health-risk behaviors that contribute
to the leading causes of morbidity, mortality, and social problems of
youth are established during the early years, then extend into adulthood.
Young people often engage in behavior that places them at risk for a variety
of preventable conditions. 

The CDC reports that 73% of all deaths among school- age
youth and young adults (10-24 years old) in the United States are attributed
to four causes: motor vehicle crashes, other unintentional injuries, homicide,
and suicide. Behaviors such as alcohol and other drug abuse and sexual
activity contribute to youth morbidity and mortality. (Kann, Kinchen,
Williams, Ross, Lowry, Hill, Grunbaum, Blumson, Collins, & Kolbe, 1998).

Homicides/Violence
 
According to Singh, Kochaneck, and MacDorman (as cited in National Center
for Injury Prevention and Control, 1999), homicide ranks as the second
leading cause of death among all 15-19 year olds and as the number one
cause of death among African-American and Hispanic youth in this age group.
In 1994, a total of 8,116 youth ages 15-24 died as a result of homicide.
Almost 90% of these homicides resulted from firearm use (CDC, 1996). Over
the past two years, multiple shootings in U.S. schools resulted in several
fatalities and numerous injuries. Results from the 1997 Youth Risk Behavior
Surveillance System (YRBSS) revealed that 5.9% of high school students
carried a gun onto school property in the 30 days prior to the survey,
and nearly 20% of students carried some type of weapon onto school property
on at least one occasion in the 30 days prior to the survey. More than
one-third of these students reported being involved in a physical fight
at least once during the 12 months prior to the survey (Kann et al., 1998).

Suicide 
In the United States, the number of completed
suicides increased among young people between ages 15 and 25 from 4.5
per 100,000 in 1950 to 13.2 per 100,000 in 1990 (Woods, Lin, Middleman,
Beckford, Chase, & DuRant, 1997). According to the 1997 YRBSS, 7.7% of
all high school students attempted suicide in the 12 months prior to the
survey. Among all high school students, 2.6% committed a suicide attempt
that required medical attention; 20.5% experienced serious suicidal ideation;
and 15.7% had more serious suicidal ideation as indicated by a specific
suicide plan (Kann et al., 1998). 
Unintentional
Injuries 
Results from the 1997 YRBSS revealed that, nationally, 19.3% of high school
students rarely or never wore a seat belt when riding in a vehicle driven
by another person; 36.2% rarely or never wore a motorcycle helmet when
riding a motorcycle during the 12 months prior to the survey; 84.4% rarely
or never wore a bicycle helmet when riding a bicycle during the 12 prior
to the survey; 36.6% rode with a driver who had been drinking alcohol
at least once during the 30 days prior to the survey; and 16.9% drove
a vehicle at least once after consuming alcohol during the 30 days prior
to the survey (Kann et al., 1998). 
Alcohol and
Other Drug Use 
Research studies have found that drug use-including alcohol-is associated
with high-risk sexual behavior. Alcohol and other illicit drug use may
increase adolescents' sexual risk for sexually transmitted diseases and
pregnancy indirectly by lowering inhibitions and impairing judgment (Rotheram-Borus
& Kooperman, 1991). According to the CDC (1994), driver alcohol use is
associated with half of all motor vehicle crash-related deaths among 5-24
year olds. 
Alcohol
 
Results from the 1997 YRBSS revealed that almost 80% of high school students
had consumed at least one drink of alcohol during their lifetime. More
than 50% had consumed at least one drink of alcohol one or more days in
the 30 days prior to the survey, and more than 33% had consumed five or
more drinks of alcohol on one or more occasions in the 30 days prior to
the survey (Kann et al., 1998). 
Tobacco
 
According to the CDC (1994), most tobacco users initiate use prior to
high school graduation, and tobacco is most often the first drug used
by youth who use other drugs such as alcohol and marijuana. More than
70% of high school students reported they had smoked a cigarette at least
once, while more than 16% reported they had smoked cigarettes on 20 or
more days during the 30 days prior to the survey. Additionally, almost
10% of high school students reported they had used smokeless tobacco on
one or more of the 30 days prior to the survey (Kann et al., 1998). 
Other Drugs
 
Forty-seven percent of high school students reported they had used marijuana
at least once during their lifetime; 26% reported they had used marijuana
at least once during the 30 days preceding the survey. Regarding other
drug use, more than 8% had used some form of cocaine during their lifetime;
3.1% had used illegal steroids; 16% had engaged in inhalant use; and 17%
had used other illegal drugs such as LSD, PCP, "ecstasy," mushrooms, "speed,"
"ice," and heroin during their lifetime. Schwartz (1998) reported that
"new heroin users include adolescents in ever-increasing numbers" (p.
1461). Results from a National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) study (as
cited in Schwartz, 1998) revealed that 1997 heroin use among high school
seniors in the United States was 100% higher than in 1990-1996. 
Sexual Behavior
 
Youth sexual behavior contributes to high rates of unintended teenage
pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV infection.
Results from the 1997 YRBSS revealed that, nationally, almost half of
the high school students surveyed had engaged in sexual intercourse during
their lifetime; 7.2% had initiated sexual intercourse before age 13; 16.0%
had engaged in sexual intercourse with four or more sexual partners; 56.8%
of currently sexually active high school students (or their partner) had
used a condom during their last sexual intercourse; and 16.6% of currently
active high school students (or their partner) had used birth control
pills before their last sexual intercourse (Kann et al., 1998). 
Teenage Pregnancy
 
The United States has the highest rate of teenage pregnancy in the Western
world. Approximately one million teenagers become pregnant each year in
the United States. The majority (85%) of these pregnancies are unplanned
and unintended. Approximately 50% of these pregnancies end in live births
(American Academy of Pediatrics, 1999; State Legislatures, 1999; Kenney,
Reinholtz, & Angelini, 1997). Once a teenager gives birth to a baby, her
risk for giving birth to another baby increases. According to the American
Academy of Pediatrics (1999), approximately 25% of babies born to teenage
mothers are not first births. Teenage pregnancy is associated with a number
of factors including low socioeconomic status, low educational aspirations,
alcohol and other drug use, and early initiation of sexual intercourse
(Coley & Chase-Lansdale, 1998). Teenage pregnancy is linked with a variety
of medical, psychosocial, and economic complications including neonatal
death, low birth weight, prematurity, low maternal weight, pregnancy-induced
hypertension (toxemia), school interruption, and unemployment or underemployment
(American Academy of Pediatrics, 1999; The Boston Women's Health Book
Collective, 1998; Crooks and Baur, 1999). 
Sexually
Transmitted Infections 
Approximately three million adolescents acquire a sexually transmitted
infection each year in the United States. An estimated 86% of all sexually
transmitted infections occur among youth ages 15-19, and by age 21, one
in five people in the United States has been treated for a sexually transmitted
infection (Crooks & Baur, 1999). 
HIV/AIDS
 
"A healthy, productive generation of adolescents in the 1990s will ensure
that America has the healthy generation of adults needed to support the
growing elderly population in the 21st century. The AIDS epidemic threatens
the viability, perhaps the very existence, of this next generation. The
social and economic well-being of this first 'AIDS generation' may well
predict the future well-being of this nation as a whole in the next century"
(Hein, 1992, p. 3). Though AIDS cases among adolescents appear low, less
than 1%, most AIDS cases (62%) are diagnosed in persons ages 20-39. These
data indicate that the initial infection frequently occurred during the
teenage years and early twenties due to the 9-15 year latency period for
AIDS (CDC, 1999). In addition, youth ages 13 to 24 comprised 4% of AIDS
cases reported during the one-year period from July 1997 through June
1998. However, they constituted 15% of the HIV infection cases reported
during the same one-year period (CDC, 1999). 
The youth empowerment approach to health promotion puts
information about and the responsibility for risky behaviors squarely
in the hands of youth. 

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