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Jun 29, 2009 7:51 pm US/Central
Study: 'Hopeless' Teens More Likely To Take Risks
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) ―
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Borowsky said she is hoping the findings will encourage adults who have daily contact with youth to help young people build hope for a more positive future. (File)
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We have often been told that youth take extreme risks because they feel indestructible. But according to new research, some teenagers may take risks because they feel very vulnerable. An eye-opening finding from a University of Minnesota researcher asserts that one in seven adolescents expect to die young.
Not only that, but such a fatalistic attitude makes those teenagers far more likely to engage in risky, even life-threatening behaviors.
"Thus, they develop a sense of hopelessness and a feeling that 'Hey, not much is at stake, I'm going to die anyway,' so [they] engage in risky behaviors," said Iris Borowsky, M.D., Ph.D.
The risky activities may include drug use, serious fighting, suicide attempts and risky sexual behavior according to Dr. Borowsky.
Pessimism has been a growing trend among the children she cares for as a pediatrician. To try to understand it, Borowsky and colleagues analyzed data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health for 20,000 7th through 12th graders.
They discovered that the sense of hopelessness "was much more common among youth of color and youth living in poverty," Borowsky said.
While only 10 percent of Caucasians in the study expected to die before the age of 35, 29 percent of American Indians, 26 percent of black, 21 percent of Hispanics and 15 percent of Asians expected an early death.
As for the impact of poverty, the research found 25 percent of teenagers living in households receiving public assistance give themselves less than a 50 percent chance of making it to 35.
Borowsky said she is hoping the findings will encourage adults who have daily contact with youth, such as parents, doctors, teachers and coaches to help young people build hope for a more positive future.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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