Chapter 6 Section 3: Challenges of Adolescence Obj: Identify some of the social problems facing contemporary teenagers; Trace the causes and consequences of these problems.

Adolescence can be a turbulent and perplexing time of life. The characteristics of adolescence that mark it as a distinct life stage give rise to pressures and problems not generally found in childhood. Caught between the relative safety of childhood and the supposed independence of adulthood, teenagers face important developmental tasks. These tasks include carving out an identity, planning for the future, becoming more independent, and developing close relationships. Most accomplish this with minimal trauma. However, others do not. For these teenagers, life can seem overwhelming.

Teenage Sexual Behavior As with so many other social phenomena, the norms governing sexual behavior vary widely from society to society. Some small preindustrial societies permit adolescents to engage in sexual behavior before marriage. In some of these societies sexual experimentation is viewed as preparation for marriage. In Western countries traditional sexual values include strict norms against premarital sexuality.

Until the 1960s, traditional sexual values had the support of the vast majority of Americans. However, in the 1960s and 1970s the development of the birth control pill, a youth counterculture, and the feminist movement led to what has been called the “sexual revolution”. During this time, the sexual norms began to change. Sex was openly discussed and explored. This has led to the openness of the culture today, just look at TV programs.

One of the unanticipated consequences of the changing norms concerning sexuality has been a dramatic increase in adolescent sexual behavior. As a result, social scientists now devote considerable time to measuring the rate of teenage sexual activity and to analyzing the factors that influence teenage sexuality.

The Rate of Teenage Sexual Activity – Information from the CDC indicates that 29 percent of unmarried US females between the ages of 15 and 19 were sexually active in By 1995 the rate of sexual activity had increased to 50 percent for the same category. Teenage childbearing showed a similar pattern. In 1970 there were 22 births per 1,000 unmarried teenage females. By 1996 the birthrate for unmarried teenage females had risen to 43. It’s higher in US than other industrialized countries. Why?

Influences on Early Sexual Activity – Social scientists have developed a number of explanations for why adolescents engage in sexual activity. Most often, these explanations focus on social and economic factors or on subcultural factors. Economic factors include: family income level, parents’ marital status, and religious participation. Subcultural factors include: teenagers whose friends engage in premarital sex are more likely to be active. Early sex is also associated with other risk taking behavior like drug abuse.

Consequences of Early Sexual Activity – Less than 1/3 of US teenage girls use birth-control methods on a regular basis. Thus, each year about 1 million teenagers become pregnant.

Negative consequences of teenage pregnancy: Lower birth weights and are more likely to die within the first year of life. Mom and Dad are less likely to finish high school and college. Because they don’t finish school, they have lower lifetime earnings. Their children are more likely to experience learning difficulties. Increased risk of becoming teenage parents. Mom often faces significant emotional stress.

Even when pregnancy does not occur, early sexual activity can have negative health effects. Sexual contact exposes teenagers to sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), such as syphilis, gonorrhea, Chlamydia, and AIDS. 4 million US teens contract STDs each year. As late as the 1990s AIDS ranked as the 7 th leading cause of death among young people between 15 to 24.

Teenage Drug Use A drug is any substance that changes mood, behavior, or consciousness. Drugs exist in many forms, including medicines, alcohol, cigarettes, marijuana, cocaine, and heroin.

Drug violence – In recent years, the public has become increasingly alarmed over the social consequences of drug abuse. This alarm is primarily a result of the dramatic increase in drug-related crime, during the 80s and 90s. Muggings, robberies, and burglaries committed by addicts in search of drug money have become a common occurrence.

Even more frightening is the growth in violence associated with drug trafficking. During the 90s about 1,000 drug- related murders occurred each year in the US. This violence was largely the result of turf wars between rival gangs in the drug trade. They start young in the gang as lookouts and slowly work their way up to dealer.

The Rate of Teenage Drug Use – Since 1975, an annual survey of high-school seniors drug use has shown drastic changes. Marijuana use declined in the 90s, and has risen in the last few years. It is still the most highly used drug among seniors. Cocaine use has followed the same pattern, but hallucinogens (LSD) have started to slack off. New drugs such as ecstasy, has increased over the past 15 years. 19% of seniors still smoke cigarettes on a daily basis. Alcohol has declined. 73% claimed to drink at some point.

US has the highest rate of drug use among adolescents of any industrialized country. This survey also does not measure drug use among the approximately 11 percent of young Americans who do not graduate from high school. Research shows that dropouts have a much higher rate of drug use than seniors.

Influences on Teenage Drug Use – Why do teenagers use drugs? Social scientists have found a number of factors associated with the regular use of drugs by teenagers. Chief among these factors are: –Having friends who regularly engage in drug use. –Having social and academic adjustment problems. –Living in a hostile and rejecting family setting.

Teenage Attitudes Toward Drug Use – The previous survey also monitors changes in the attitudes of teenagers toward drug use. At the peak of marijuana use in 1979, only 42% of seniors surveyed believed that regular use was harmful. By 2000 that figure stood at 58%. All drug attitudes followed the same pattern, including tobacco. What remains the same and very low is alcohol. Many seniors still believe that a drink or two a day is not harmful. Having said all of this, attitudes toward regular use of drugs have remained constant at 90 – 98% through the years.

Teenage Suicide The social problems of teenage drug and alcohol abuse are contributing factors to another serious adolescent problem. The rate of suicide among young people in the US has more than doubled in the past three decades. Suicide is 3 rd only to accidents and homicides as the leading cause of death among people aged It is the 4 th leading cause of death among year olds.

Researchers argue that suicide rates among the young would be much higher if certain accidental drownings, drug overdoses, and other similar deaths were taken into consideration. In 1999 the CDC questioned high-school students on suicide. Some 8% reported an attempted suicide. Almost 20% said they had seriously considered it. Some 14% said they’d made a plan. As scary as this is, suicide is a much larger problem among the elderly, twice as high.

The Sociological View of Suicide – Emile Durkheim, author of Suicide, said variations in suicide rates can be explained by the level of social integration in a group or society. Social integration is the degree of attachment people have to social groups or to society as a whole. Durkheim predicted that groups or societies with particularly high or particularly low levels of social integration will have high rates of suicide.

In Durkheim’s view, high levels of social integration can lead to increased rates of suicide because group members place the needs of the group above their own personal needs. For example, in the Inuit society, elderly people walked into the snowy wild to die once they became a burden on the group. Strong community bonds made the elderly value the welfare of the group over their own welfare.

Suicides resulting from low levels of social integration are much more common than those resulting from high levels of integration. Low levels of integration occur in periods of social disorganization because the norms that govern behavior weaken or become less clear. Some common factors are rapid social change, increased geographic mobility, war or natural disasters, and sudden changes in economic conditions.

Predictors of Teenage Suicide – As teenagers move from the role of child to that of adult, they are faced with new freedoms as well as new restrictions. Many of the norms that governed proper behavior during childhood no longer apply. Yet many adult behaviors are still considered inappropriate. At the same time, friends and the larger society have more and more influence over teenagers’ beliefs and actions. As the control of the family lessens, teenagers begin to take increasing responsibility for their own actions.

Most teenagers adapt to these changing expectations. For some, however, the confusion and self-doubt common in adolescence are often blown out of proportion. Because teenagers tend to focus so much on the present, they often do not realize that most problems can be solved with time and patience. In some cases, social isolation and self-doubt lead to frustrations that may push adolescents toward suicidal behavior.

Suicide cuts across all social categories. There are cases of teenage suicide among both sexes; every economic level; and all races, religions, and nationalities. Nevertheless, certain social factors appear to affect the rates of teenage suicide.

Alcohol and drug use – lt lowers self-control and more easily frustrated, teens are more likely to act on impulse, method of suicide itself. Triggering events – a specific event or the expectation of a specific event triggers the attempt. Fear of punishment, rejection, family crisis, poor school performance. Age – Risk increases with age. Sex – Girls are 3 times more likely than boys to attempt suicide. But boys are more successful at it, could be due to the fact that boys often choose guns or other weapons.

Population density – rural residents are more likely than city dwellers to attempt. This could be due to social isolation, and that lower populated areas have less access to social services for help. Family relations – rates are higher in more volatile families. Cluster effect – a teenage suicide sometimes results in other suicide attempts among adolescents in a community. It is thought that as many as 200 teen suicides a year are the result of “copycats”