Underage Drinking
- In 2005,
about 10.8 million persons ages 12-20 (28.2% of this age group)
reported drinking alcohol in the past month. Nearly 7.2 million
(18.8%) were binge drinkers, and 2.3 million (6.0%) were heavy
drinkers.
2005 SAMHSA National Survey on Drug Use and Health
- Three out of
every four students (75%) have consumed alcohol (more than just a
few sips) by the end of high school.
2005 Monitoring
the Future
- More than
half (58%) of 12th graders report having been drunk at least once in
their life. One fifth (20%) of 8th graders report having been drunk
at least once in their life.
2005 Monitoring
the Future
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Impaired Driving
- Motor vehicle
crashes remain the number one cause of death among youth ages 15-20.
There were 7,460 youth motor vehicle deaths in 2005. (This includes
both drivers and passengers.)
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Twenty-eight
percent (28%) of 15- to 20-year-old drivers who were killed in motor
vehicle crashes in 2005 had been drinking.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- For young
drivers (15-20 years old), alcohol involvement is higher among males
than among females. In 2005, 24% of the young male drivers involved
in fatal crashes had been drinking at the time of the crash,
compared with 12% of the young female drivers involved in fatal
crashes.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
- Drivers are
less likely to use seat belts when they have been drinking. In 2005,
64% of the young drivers of passenger vehicles involved in fatal
crashes who had been drinking were unrestrained. Of the young
drivers who had been drinking and were killed in crashes, 74% were
unrestrained.
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration
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Traffic Safety
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Tobacco
- Nationwide,
15.2% of the 19.1% students who reported current cigarette use and
were under 18 years old usually got their own cigarettes by buying
them in a store or gas station during the last 30 days.
2005 CDC Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance
- Among the
12.9% of students nationwide who tried to buy cigarettes in a store
during the 30 days preceding the survey, 48.5% of students were not
asked to show proof of age.
2005 CDC Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance
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Drug Use
- In 2005, 9.9%
of youths ages 12-17 were current illicit drug users: 6.8% used
marijuana, 3.3% used prescription drugs for nonmedicinal purposes,
1.2% used inhalants, 0.8% used hallucinogens, and 0.6% used cocaine.
2005 SAMHSA National Survey on Drug Use and Health
- Two fifths of
8th graders (41%) and almost three fourths of all 10th graders (73%)
consider marijuana easily accessible; compare these figures with the
percentage of 12th graders – 86%.
2005 Monitoring the Future
- In 2005,
15.5% of youths ages 12-17 indicated that they had been approached
by someone selling drugs in the past month. Youth who reported being
approached by someone selling drugs were more likely to have used an
illicit drug in their lifetime (61.3% vs. 21.5%), in the past year
(51.2% vs. 14.1%) and in the past month (32.6% vs. 5.8%).
2005 SAMHSA National Survey on Drug Use and Health
- Youths ages
12-17 who believed their parents would strongly disapprove of their
using a particular substance were less likely to use that substance
than were youths who believed their parents would somewhat
disapprove or neither approve nor disapprove.
2005 SAMHSA National Survey on Drug Use and Health
- Sixty-two
percent (62%) of the nation’s high schoolers – some 10.6 million –
and 28% of middle schoolers (2.4 million) will go to schools where
drugs are used, kept, or sold.
2005 CASA
National Survey
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Exposure to Prevention Programming
- Approximately
one in eight youths ages 12-17 (11.7%) reported in 2005 that
participating in drug, tobacco, or alcohol prevention programs
outside of school in the past year. The prevalence of past month
alcohol use was lower among youths who reported participating in
these programs, 14.0%, than among youths who did not, 16.9%.
2005 SAMHSA National Survey on Drug Use and Health
- Almost four
fifths (77.9%) of youths ages 12-17 enrolled in school reported in
2005 they had seen or heard drug or alcohol prevention messages at
school in the past year. Past month use of an illicit drug was lower
for youths exposed to such messages (9.2%) than for youths not
reporting such exposure (13.2%).
2005 SAMHSA National Survey on Drug Use and Health
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Violence
- Nationwide,
18.5% of high school students had carried a weapon (gun, knife, or
club) one or more days in the last 30 days. The prevalence of having
carried a weapon was higher among male (29.8%) than female (7.1%)
students.
2005 CDC Youth
Risk Behavior Surveillance
- Nationwide,
6.0% of students had not gone to school on 1 or more days of the
last 30 days because they felt they would be unsafe at school or on
their way to or from school.
2005 CDC Youth
Risk Behavior Surveillance
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Mental Health
- In 2005,
there were 3.4 million youths ages 12-17 years old (13.7% of 12- to
17-year-olds) who had at least one Major Depressive Episode (MDE) in
their lifetime and 2.2 million youths (8.8%) who had MDE during the
past year.
2005 SAMHSA
National Survey on Drug Use and Health
- Nationwide,
16.9% of high school students had seriously considered attempting
suicide during the past year. Overall, the prevalence of having
seriously considered attempting suicide was higher among female
(21.8%) than male (12.0%) students.
2005 CDC Youth
Risk Behavior Surveillance
- Nationwide,
8.4% of high school students had actually attempted suicide one or
more times during the past year. Overall, the prevalence of having
actually attempted suicide was higher among female (10.8%) than male
(6.0%) students.
2005 CDC Youth
Risk Behavior Surveillance
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Eating Disorders
- During the
last 30 days, 6.3% of students nationwide had taken diet pills,
powders, or liquids without a doctor’s advice to lose weight or to
keep from gaining weight.
2005 CDC Youth
Risk Behavior Surveillance
- Nationwide,
4.5% of students had vomited or taken laxatives to lose weight or to
keep from gaining weight during the last 30 days. Overall the
prevalence of having vomited or taken laxatives to lose weight or to
keep from gaining weight was higher among female (6.2%) than male
(2.8%) students.
2005 CDC Youth
Risk Behavior Surveillance
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to top
Sexual Activity
- Currently
46.8% of all high school students report they have had sexual
intercourse. The percentage of high school students who have had sex
decreased 13.3% between 1991 and 2005 (54% to 46.8%).
2005 CDC Youth
Risk Behavior Surveillance
- Nationwide,
6.2% of high school students had had sexual intercourse for the
first time before age 13. Overall, the prevalence of having had
sexual intercourse before age 13 was higher among male (8.8%) than
female (3.7%) students.
2005 CDC Youth
Risk Behavior Surveillance
- Nationwide,
14.3% of high school students had had sexual intercourse with four
or more persons during their life. Overall, the prevalence of having
had sexual intercourse with four or more persons was higher among
male (16.5%) than female (12.0%) students.
2005 CDC Youth
Risk Behavior Surveillance
- Among the
33.9% of currently sexually active students nationwide, 62.8%
reported that either they or their partner had used a condom during
last sexual intercourse. Overall, the prevalence of having used a
condom during last sexual intercourse was higher among male (70.0%)
than female (55.9%) students.
2005 CDC Youth
Risk Behavior Surveillance
- Youth exposed
to sexual content on television were more likely to overestimate the
frequency of sexual activity among peers and more likely to have
more permissive attitudes toward premarital sex.
2005 ASHA State
of the Nation
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Teen Pregnancy
- Three in ten
teenage girls (31%) become pregnant at least once before they reach
the age of 20 – more than 750,000 teen pregnancies a year. Eight in
ten of these pregnancies are unintended and 81% are to unmarried
teens.
National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy
- The U.S. teen
pregnancy rate for teens ages 15-19 decreased 36% between 1990 and
2002.
National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy
- Despite
impressive declines over the past decade, the United States still
has the highest rates of teen pregnancy and births in the Western
industrialized world. Teen pregnancy costs the United States at
least $7 billion annually.
National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy
- A majority of
both girls and boys who are sexually active wish they had waited. Of
those who have had sex, more than one half of teen boys (55%) and
the majority of teen girls (70%) said they wish they had waited
longer to have sex.
National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy
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STDs
- Nineteen (19)
million new STD infections occur each year, almost half of them
among young people ages 15 to 24.
Centers for
Disease Control
- Forty percent
(40%) of older adolescents surveyed by the Kaiser Family Foundation
incorrectly believe that the contraceptive “pill” and “shot” protect
against STDs and HIV.
2005 ASHA State
of the Nation
- Some young
people, including those who had abstinence education, consider oral
and anal sex to be abstinent behaviors and do not realize these
behaviors present risks of STD transmission.
2005 ASHA State
of the Nation
- Adolescents
believed they are tested during routine medical examinations for
major STDs: chlamydia, gonorrhea, HIV, hepatitis B, herpes, HPV,
syphilis, and trichomoniasis.
2005 ASHA State
of the Nation
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HIV/AIDS
- In 2004, an
estimated 4,883 people ages 13-24 received a diagnosis of HIV
infection or AIDS, representing about 13% of the people given a
diagnosis that year.
Centers for
Disease Control
-
African-Americans were disproportionately affected by HIV infection,
accounting for 55% of all HIV infections reported among young
persons ages 13-24.
Centers for
Disease Control
- In 2004, an
estimated 7,761 young people were living with AIDS, a 42% increase
since 2000, when 5,457 young people were living with AIDS.
Centers for
Disease Control
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