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Many teens feel that
their parents don't understand them. They feel as if their parents are "from
a different world". This is a normal feeling that comes from the generation
gap between teens and their adult parents, it isn't a culture clash it is a
generational difference. Yet there are teens all over the world who deal
with real culture clashes between them and their parents every day. Teens
from very rigid backgrounds struggle with the burden of a global awareness
while dealing with a culture that is very set in it's ways. If you are in a
family that has recently immigrated to a new country, or are the child of
fairly new immigrants, the "old country meets new" issue is very pronounced.
In North America and
other Western countries, immigrant teens (or the native born children of
recent immigrants) face a struggle that their peers do not - a struggle to
maintain their heritage while living in a contrary culture. Western media
seems fixated on extreme examples of cultural differences between the
Western "norm" and the many foriegn cultures it comes in contact with. We
hear of arranged marriages, honor killings, gender based abortions, female
circumcision and other practices that are now abhorent to the Western world,
and cringe. Now imagine how difficult it would be if your own cultural
identity and that of your parents were at similar odds. How do you maintain
your heritage while rejecting it's cultural base? How do you balance two
parts of your own world that don't seem to understand each other?
For teens who were
born and/or raised in a Western culture but whose parents were raised in an
"old coutry" culture, the cross culture dilemma is a daily reality.
>>>Let's find out!
STATISTICS ON TEENS
Think teen culture in America is just about hanging out with friends, movies
and fun? While they are not representative of every teenager, they do point
to what goes on in American teen culture.
Statistics on Teen Sex
-Nationally, more than half of teenagers are virgins until they are at least
17 years of age (Sex and America's Teenagers, The Alan Guttmacher Institute,
New York, 1994).
-In the U.S., 7 in 10 women who had sex before age 14, and 6 in 10 of those
who had sex before age 15 report having had sex involuntarily. (Facts in
Brief: Teen Sex and Pregnancy, The Alan Guttmacher Institute, New York,
1996).
-Nationally, one-quarter of 15 year old females and less than 30% of 15 year
old males have had sex, compared with 66% of 18 year old females, and 68% of
18 year old males who have had sexual intercourse. (A Statistical Portrait
of Adolescent Sex, Contraception, and Childbearing, National Campaign to
Prevent Teen Pregnancy, Washington, DC, 1998).
Statistics on Teen pregnancy
-Nationally, nearly one million young women under age 20 become pregnant
each year. That means close to 2800 teens get pregnant each day.( Facts in
Brief: Teen Sex and Pregnancy, The Alan Guttmacher Institute, New York,
1996).
-Approximately 4 in 10 young women in the U.S. become pregnant at least once
before turning 20 years old.( Facts in Brief: Teen Sex and Pregnancy, The
Alan Guttmacher Institute, New York, 1996).
-Teen childbearing alone costs U.S. taxpayers nearly $7 billion annually for
social services and lost tax revenues. (Kids Having Kids: Economic Costs and
Social Consequences of Teen Pregnancy, Prebecca Maynard (ed.), The Urban
Institute, Washington, DC, 1997).
Statistics on Rape in Teen:
-Teens 16 to 19 were three and one-half times more likely than the general
population to be victims of rape, attempted rape or sexual assault.
(National Crime Victimization Survey. Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S.
Department of Justice, 1996.)
-According to the Justice Department, one in two rape victims is under age
18; one in six is under age 12. [Child Rape Victims, 1992. U.S. Department
of Justice.]
-While 9 out of 10 rape victims are women, men and boys are also victimized
by this crime. In 1995, 32,130 males age 12 and older were victims of rape,
attempted rape or sexual assault. [National Crime Victimization Survey.
Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice, 1996.]
Sexually Transmitted Diseases Among
Teens
-In the U.S., 1 in 4 sexually active teens become infected with an STD every
year.2 Some common STDs are chlamydia, gonorrhea, genital warts (also known
as HPV - human papillomavirus), and herpes. (Facts in Brief: Teen Sex and
Pregnancy, The Alan Guttmacher Institute, New York, 1996).
Teens are victims of violence, murder
and crime
In 1998, the young, blacks, and males were most vulnerable to violent crime:
-- 1 in 12 persons age 12 to 15, compared to 1 in 357 age 65 or more
-- 1 in 24 blacks, compared to 1 in 28 whites
-- 1 in 23 males, compared to 1 in 33 females
(Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice)
-Teenagers and young adults were more likely to become victims of violent
crime than older persons. In 1998, about a third of all victims of violent
crime were ages 12 to 19 and almost half of all victims of violence were
under age 25. (Bureau of Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice)
-The percent of students reporting street gang presence at school nearly
doubled between 1989 and 1995, increasing from 15.3% to 28.4%. (Bureau of
Justice Statistics, U.S. Department of Justice)
-Homicide is the second leading cause of death for persons 15-24 years of
age and is the leading cause of death for African-American and Hispanic
youths in this age-group (Anderson RN, Kochanek KD, Murphy SL. Report of
final mortality statistics, 1995. Monthly vital statistics report 45, 11(2
Suppl) 1997).
-In 1996, 6,548 young people 15-24 years old were victims of homicide. This
amounts to an average of 18 youth homicide victims per day in the U.S. (
National Summary of Injury Mortality Data, 1988-1996. Atlanta, GA: Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Injury Prevention
and Control, November, 1998 (Unpublished)).
Statistics on Teen Smoking
-Approximately 80% of adult smokers started smoking before the age of 18.
Every day, nearly 3,000 young people under the age of 18 become regular
smokers.
More than 5 million children living today will die prematurely because of a
decision they will make as adolescents---the decision to smoke cigarettes.
(Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
-An estimated 2.1 million people began smoking on a daily basis in 1997.
More than half of these new daily smokers were younger than age 18. This
translates to more than 3,000 new youth smokers per day. The rate of youth
initiation of daily smoking increased somewhat from 55.5 to 74.9 per 1,000
potential new users between 1991 and 1996, but remained level in 1997(the
1998 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse)
-Nearly all first use of tobacco occurs before high school graduation.
-Most young people who smoke are addicted to nicotine and report that they
want to quit but are unable to do so.
-Tobacco is often the first drug used by young people who use alcohol and
illegal drugs.
-Among young people, those with poorer grades and lower self-images are most
likely to begin using tobacco.
-Over the past decade, there has been virtually no decline in smoking rates
among all teens. Among black adolescents, however, the prevalence of smoking
has declined dramatically.
-Young people who come from a low-income family and have fewer than two
adults living in their household are especially at risk for becoming
smokers.
(Preventing Tobacco Use Among Young People, U.S. Surgeon General Report,
1994)
Statistics on Drugs among Teens
-There were an estimated 708,000 new inhalant users in 1997, up from 332,000
in 1989. The rate of first use among youths age 12-17 rose significantly
from 1989 to 1995, from 8.4 to 18.8 per 1,000 potential new users, and
remained level after that. For young adults age 18-25, there was an increase
in the rate of first use between 1989 and 1996 (from 3.7 to 10.7 per 1,000
potential new users) and a leveling off in 1997 (9.2 per 1,000 potential new
users). (The 1998 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse)
-More than half (56 percent) of youths age 12-17 reported that marijuana was
easy to obtain in 1998. This is an increase from 1992, when 51 percent
reported that marijuana was easy to obtain. (The 1998 National Household
Survey on Drug Abuse)
-The percent of the population reporting that they had been approached by
someone selling drugs in the past month decreased from 9.2 percent in 1992
to 6.1 percent in 1998. However, among youths age 12-17 years, the percent
was 13.7 percent in 1998, similar to the percentage in 1992 (13.4 percent).
(The 1998 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse)
Statistics on Alcohol among Teens
-More than 40% of teens who admitted drinking said they drink when they are
upset; 31% said they drink alone; 25% said they drink when they are bored;
and 25% said they drink to "get high." (U.S. Surgeon General, 1991)
-Each year, students spend $5.5 billion on alcohol, more than they spend on
soft drinks, tea, milk, juice, coffee or books combined. On a typical
campus, per capita students spending for alcohol--$446 per student--far
exceeds the per capita budget of the college library. (Eigen, 1991 in the
1998 National Household Survey on Drug Abuse).
-Nearly one-third of college students surveyed said they wished alcohol was
not available at campus events, and nearly 90% wished that other drugs would
disappear from campuses. (Core Institute, 1993)
-Approximately 240,000 to 360,000 of the nation's 12 million current
undergraduates will ultimately die from alcohol-related causes--more than
the number that will get MAs and PhDs combined. (Eigen, 1991 in the 1998
National Household Survey on Drug Abuse)
-Sixty percent of college women diagnosed with a sexually transmitted
disease were drunk at the time of infection. (Advocacy Institute, 1992)
Statistics on Drinking and Driving
Among Teens
-Eight young people a day die in alcohol-related crashes. (CSAP, 1996)
(Mothers Against Drunk Driving website)
Statistics on Teens and Television
-Percentage of teenagers 13-17 who can name the city where the US
Constitution was written (Philadelphia): 25. Percentage of teenagers 13-17
who know where you find the zip code 90210 (Beverly Hills): 75 ( Survey
conducted by the National Constitution Center (NCC), Philadelphia, 1998. )
-Percentage of children ages 5-17 who have a TV in their bedroom: 52 (BJK&E
Media report, The New York Times, December 30, 1997. )
-Hours per day that TV is on in an average US home: 7 hours, 12 minutes (BJK&E
Media report, The New York Times, December 30, 1997.
-Number of minutes per week that parents spend in meaningful conversation
with their children: 38.5 (American Family Research Council, "Parents Fight
�Time Famine' as Economic Pressures Increase," 1990.)
Reference:
http://www.emerald-library.com/Insight/ViewContentServlet?Filename=/published/emeraldfulltextarticle/pdf/0770160404.pdf
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