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.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.