|
|
 |
America’s parents got quite a report card recently when the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services released the latest data on youth risk behavior. The incidence of nearly every unhealthy risk behavior is down among our young people. Parents get much of the credit. U.S. Secretary for Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson chose the first-ever National Youth Summit, sponsored by the U.S. Administration for Children and Families, as the venue for releasing the 2001 Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System (YRBSS) report. “The youth in our high schools are increasingly acting like responsible young men and women – making responsible choices that will protect themselves now and well into the future,” Secretary Thompson said. For example, the percentage of students who carried a weapon dropped from 26 percent in 1991 to 17 percent in 2001. The percentage of students who ever seriously considered suicide decreased from 29 percent to 19 percent over the same time period; the percent who planned a suicide attempt dropped from 19 to 15 percent. For years, smoking among teens seemed intractable, going up every year. Not anymore – high school students who smoke went down from 36 percent in 1997 to 29 percent in 2001. Those reporting frequent cigarette use dropped from 17 percent to 14 percent. Marijuana use dropped as well, from 47 percent of high school students in 1997 to 42 percent in 2001. And the majority of high school students are now virgins. In 1991, 54 percent of students had sexual intercourse at least once. That figure was down to 46 percent in 2001, and those having four or more partners fell by the highest proportion, dropping from 19 to 15 percent. The YRBSS does indeed paint a positive picture of this generation of young people. And in the coming years it will only get brighter. The National Youth Summit marks a sea change in how we think about young people. Unlike so many big conferences in the past, this wasn’t a celebration of the ingenuity of caseworkers, nor was it about showing the latest interventions being taught at social work schools. Rather, it was a celebration of young people. The National Youth Summit was the preeminent event of the positive youth development movement. It’s a movement grounded in the belief that we have much to learn from the majority of young people who are succeeding. It’s built on the growing body of research showing that adults, particularly parents, can help protect young people from unhealthy risk behaviors. Claude A. Allen, the Deputy Secretary for Health and Human Services put it very nicely. He told the 1,600 National Youth Summit attendees, “The most important factor affecting youth is their relationship with their parents. Now I hope that does not come as a shock to you, but for many people it does. Of course, if you believe everything you see and hear, you may think that parents do not matter anymore to children. That is not, however, what children are saying.” He cited a number of findings from the $25 million federal study known as Add Health, the largest survey of adolescent behavior ever conducted. School achievement, religiosity, and having adults who care about a teen make it less likely that a teen will get involved with violence. Mothers who make it clear to their teenage children that they disapprove of them having sex have teenage children who are less likely to have sex. Over and over, the research is showing that teens who have parents who care – actively care – are less likely to get into trouble. Our organization sponsors a program known as Right Choices for Youth, a community initiative that brings folks together to help kids build brighter futures. We work with young people every day who are trying hard to make right choices. We’re seeing more and more adults, particularly parents, in all communities pitching in to help these young people better negotiate their adolescent years. That’s why I can readily predict that the data on teenagers and risk behaviors will improve. America’s parents are again discovering that they matter, no matter what age their children. America’s parents are being empowered to take a stand against the negative influences buffeting their adolescent children. The mass media aren’t telling parents that. But this federal government, from the President on down, sure is. Parents are listening. Good for them. Good for their kids.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Home | About | News | Parents & Teens | Publications | Programs | Links | Archives | Feedback | Affiliates | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Copyright
2004