Transcript Ch. 6 S. 3

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 1970.
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 7th
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 drugrelated 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 3rd only to
accidents and homicides as the leading
cause of death among people aged 15-24.
It is the 4th leading cause of death among
10-14 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”