To some observers, teens today may seem spoiled (undisciplined andegocentric) compared to those of earlier times. The reality, however, isdifferent. While poverty has decreased and political turmoil has lessened,young people are still under many types of stress. Peer pressure, changingfamily conditions, mobility of families and unemployment are just a few reasonswhy some young people may try to escape reality by turning to alcohol or drugs.However, most young people in the United States do not have problems withdrinking, drug abuse, teen pregnancies or juvenile delinquency. Drug use(marijuana and cocaine are the most commonly used drugs) has decreased amongyoung people in the United States within the last 10 years, though alcoholabuse has increased.
According to a 1991 government survey, about 8 million teenagers areweekly users of alcohol, including more than 450,000 who consume an average of15 drinks a week. And, although all 50 states prohibit the sale of alcohol toanyone under 21, some 6.9 million teenagers, including some as young as 13,reported no problems in obtaining alcohol using false identification cards.Although many teenagers say they never drive after drinking, one-third of thestudents surveyed admitted they they has accepted rides from friends who hadbeen drinking.
Many young Americans are joining organizations to help teenagersstop drinking and driving. Thousands of teenagers have joined Students AgainstDriving Drunk (SADD). They sign contracts in which they and their parentspledge not to drive after drinking. In some schools, students have joinedanti-drug programs. Young people with drug problems can also call specialtelephone numbers to ask for help.
Aside from drug abuse, another problem of America's youths ispregnancy among young women. One million teenagers become pregnant each year.Why are the statistics so high? The post-World War II baby boom resulted in a43 percent increase in the number of teenagers in the 1960s and 1970s. Thenumbers of sexually active teens also increased. And some commentators believethat regulations for obtaining federal welfare assistance unintentionallyencourage teenage pregnancies.
Many community programs help cut down on the numbers of teenagepregnancies. Some programs rely on strong counseling against premarital sex andothers provide contraceptive counseling. The «Teen Health Project» inNew York City has led to a decline of 13.5 percent in the rate of teenagepregnancies since 1976. Why? Their program offers health care, contraceptivecounseling, sports programs, job referrals and substance abuse programs.
About one million young people run away from home each year. Mostreturn after a few days or a few weeks, but a few turn to crime and becomejuvenile delinquents. In 1989, approximately one-third of those arrested forserious crimes were under 18 years of age. Why are young people committingcrimes? Among the causes are poor family relationships (often the children wereabused or neglected while growing up), bad neighborhood conditions, peerpressure and sometimes, drug addiction.
Laws vary from state to state regarding juvenile delinquents. Oncearrested, a juvenile must appear in a juvenile court. Juvenile courts oftengive lighter punishments to young people than to adults who commit the samecrime. Juvenile courts hope to reform or rehabilitate the juvenile delinquent.
New programs to help troubled youths are created every year. Forexample, the city of New York and the Rheedlen Foundation provide anafter-school program at a junior high school to help keep teens from becomingjuvenile delinquents. Young people can go 4 after school and talk with peercounselors (people their own age), receive academic tutoring or take part inathletic and social activities. One New York community's library offers weekdayevening workshops in dance, art, music and theater. They also sponsor socialevents, such as theater productions, in which young people can participate.Another group, the «Youth Rescue Fund» has a celebrity peer councilof 15 teenage actors and actresses who volunteer their time to increase teencrisis awareness. As one young television actress said: «Teenagers are animportant resource in improving the quality of life for all people.»
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