Risks and Opportunities Synthesis of Studies on Adolescence (1999) / Chapter Skim
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2 Adolescence: A Time of Opportunity and Risk
2 Adolescence: A Time of Opportunity and Risk
Pages 6-17
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From page 6... ...
As of 1990, however, this pattern was reversed: 49 percent of adolescents between ages 10 and 14 and 51 percent between ages 15 and 19. This trend is also likely to continue into the 21st century, and increasingly researchers, service providers, and policy makers are arguing that the age frame that defines adolescence should include youth up to age 24.
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From page 7... ...
In 1993, more than one-third of the population of adolescents ages 10 to 19 were Hispanic or nonwhite. Black children were the largest minority population prior to 1997, but now their numbers are slightly superseded by Hispanic children (each making up about 15 percent of the total child population)
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From page 8... ...
The events of this crucial formative phase can shape an individual's life course and, by extension, an entire society. In the United States, the period called adolescence is considered to extend over many years, so it can be usefully subdivided into three developmental phases.
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From page 9... ...
Half a century later, psychoanalytic writers including Anna Freud accepted and augmented Hall's emphasis on turmoil. Even today, "raging hormones" continue to be a popular explanation for the lability, aggression, and sexual activity associated with adolescence.
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From page 10... ...
. It is also because the outcomes associated with some of these behaviors can be so disastrous: the rates of many sexually transmitted diseases are highest during the adolescent and young adult years; many adolescents experience unintended pregnancies, which can significantly affect their life course and limit future opportunities; a disproportionately high number of automobile accidents occurs among teenagers, and typically alcohol is involved; and violence has increased to the point that homicide is the second leading cause of death among young people.
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From page 11... ...
When people are experiencing positive emotions, they tend to underestimate the likelihood of negative consequences to their actions; when they are experiencing negative emotions, they tend to focus on the near term ancl lose sight of the big picture. Both aclolescents' ancl aclults' clecision-making abilities are influenced by emotions.
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From page 12... ...
Neighborhoods and communities particularly inner-city, poor neighborhoods are also increasingly less able to provide resources and services to youth, and school systems are often not organized to provide opportunities to learn and grow during the after-school hours. In the past few decades, researchers have started to examine why some adolescents in low-income communities successfully navigate environmental challenges, while others, similarly situated, adopt lifestyles characterized by drug use, unprotected sexual behavior, dropping out of school, delinquency, gang membership, and violence.
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From page 13... ...
Parents who offer this type of support to their adolescent children can provide powerful protection against the possibility that they may engage in unhealthy practices, become socially isolated, or become troubled or depressed. Today, adolescents are growing up in families that are diverse with respect to their size, shape, and structure.
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From page 14... ...
One of the most profound changes in the past few decades is the increased proportion of adolescents living in or near poverty. Patterns in family structure are associated with differential economic status, with households headed by two parents reporting significantly higher incomes than those headed by single parents.
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From page 15... ...
While it is certainly not the case that all adolescents growing up in poor or divorced families are destined to problems and failure, there is an extensive literature that suggests that adolescents living in families experiencing economic hardship, divorce, or both are at increased risk for a range of health and behavioral problems, including school failure, use and abuse of alcohol and other drugs, unintended pregnancies, and illegal activities. The effects of these challenges can be moderated, however, by parents' behaviors.
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From page 16... ...
PEER RELATIONSHIPS Adolescents spend twice as much time with peers than with parents or other adults, and adolescent peer groups function with much less adult supervision than do childhood peer groups. The relative importance of peer group influence versus family influence on adolescents has been the subject of controversy.
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From page 17... ...
ADOLESCENCE 17 REPORTS REFERENCED . AdLolescent Behavior and Health ~ 1978)
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