Profile
of America's Youth
Overall, it appears that
most young people in America are faring better than their counterparts
10 years ago. They are achieving in school, participating in community
service activities, and choosing healthier behaviors. Most interesting,
many surveys show that young people today say that they want and
need the guidance of their parents.
Excitement about the good
news reflected in the statistics below must, of course, be tempered
by the realization that too many of America's youth still live in
disadvantaged circumstances. These young people typically do not
have access to all they need to learn and grow into happy, healthy,
and productive adults.
It remains incumbent on
the Nation, therefore, to continue to develop strategies for providing
all youth with the support and opportunities critical to their development.
One method for doing so is the "youth development" approach.
Designers of that approach looked at what made it possible for young
people to do well and identified the following variables: a sense
of competence, a sense of usefulness, a sense of belonging, and
a sense of power.
In fact, the statistics
below give us hope that, with the right support and guidance, young
people tend to do well. Through the youth development approach,
we can begin to devote the necessary resources to ensuring that
all young people are able to build new skills, make a contribution,
become part of a community, and feel in control over their future.
To find out more about
the status of America's young people and the youth development approach,
review the statistics below and then link to the references at the
bottom of this listing.
How many teenagers
are there in America? How many youth are female and how many are
male?
-
According to the U.S.
Census Bureau estimates for the year 2000, there are 19.9 million
young people ages 10–14 and 19.8 million young people ages 15–19
in the United States, totaling 39.7 million youth ages 10–19.1
-
The U.S. Census Bureau
estimates that in 2000, 49 percent of American youth ages 10–19
are female and 51 percent are male.1
How many youth are
participating in positive activities that promote well-being?
-
In Teen Risk-Taking:
A Statistical Portrait, the Urban Institute reported that
92 percent of youth engage in at least one positive behavior,
such as earning good grades, participating in school sports
or other activities, being involved with a religious institution,
or spending time with parents.
The majority of young
people reported receiving good grades (54 percent), participating
in a school sport (58 percent), participating in other school
activities (53 percent), being involved with a religious institution
(60 percent), and spending time with family (76 percent)2
-
Nearly 80 percent
of youth indicate that they have held a job at some point
during high school.
-
At any given time,
about one-third of high school students are employed in the
labor market; today 3.3 million students are working.
-
Youth who participate
in community service initiatives through community-based organizations
achieve at higher educational levels and have higher expectations
for their academic and professional careers.3
-
According to the 2000
edition of America’s Children: Key National Indicators of
Well-Being, in 1999, 55 percent of high school students participated
in volunteer activities during the current school year.4
How does parental involvement
affect youth behavior?
The YMCA survey also
found that not having enough time with their parents is the top
concern of young people. Youth were three times as likely as their
parents to indicate that family time is their biggest issue of
concern. Parents reported outside threats such as drugs and alcohol
as their top concerns.5
-
The article, Protecting
Adolescents From Harm: Findings From the National Longitudinal
Study on Adolescent Health, in the Journal of the American
Medical Association,
reported that parent and family connectedness
help to protect adolescents from seven of the eight harmful
behaviors examined.6
-
In Teens and Their
Parents in the 21st Century: An Examination of Trends
in Teen Behavior and the Role of Parental Involvement, the Council
of Economic Advisors indicated that parental involvement is
a major influence in helping youth avoid risky behaviors, such
as drug use and early sexual activity. In addition, young people
who have a close relationship with their parents are more likely
to have higher grade point averages and to go to college.3
Are adolescents choosing
healthy behaviors?
-
According to the Urban
Institute’s Teen Risk-Taking: A Statistical Portrait, from
1991 to 1997 there was a steady overall decline in student health-risk
behavior. This decline is equivalent to a 29 percent increase
in the proportion of students choosing healthy behaviors.2
-
The 1999 National
Household Survey on Drug Abuse reports that illicit drug use
continues to decline among youth ages 12–17. The rate of use
decreased from 11.4 percent in 1997 to 9.0 percent in 1999.7
-
The report Teens
and Their Parents in the 21st Century: An Examination
of Trends in Teen Behavior and the Role of Parental Involvement
indicated that between 1991 and 1998 the overall birth rate
of youth ages 15–19 declined by 18 percent. In addition, the
birth rate for girls ages 15–17 was a record low in 1998, at
30 births for every 1,000 girls.3
-
In its 1999 edition
of Trends in the Well-Being of America’s Children & Youth,
the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services reported that
in 1997, more than half of students in grades 9–12 chose to
abstain from sexual intercourse.8
How are American teenagers
performing academically?
-
Young people today
are taking more challenging courses in core academic subjects
than did their counterparts in the 1980s.
-
Between 1990 and
1996, the percentage of 8th graders performing
at or above basic proficiency in mathematics increased from
52 to 62 percent; for 12th graders the increase
was from 58 to 69 percent.3
-
According to the 2000
edition of America’s Children: Key National Indicators of
Well-Being, in 1998, the overall high school
completion rate, defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as the
percentage of 18-24 year olds who have received a high school diploma or its equivalent,
was 85 percent.4
What are the current
trends in youth violence?
-
The Office of Juvenile
Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice,
reported in Juvenile Offenders and Victims: 1999 National
Report that in 1997 serious juvenile violent crime declined
to its lowest level in more than a decade.9
-
The U.S. Department
of Health and Human Services reported in its 1999 edition of
Trends in the Well-Being of America’s Children & Youth
that the firearm homicide rate among youth decreased by
more than one-third from 1993 to 1997.8
-
According to the 2000
Indicators of School Crime and Safety, a joint publication
of the U.S. Departments of Education and Justice, nearly half
of all schools reported no incidents of crime in the 1996–1997
school year and 90 percent of schools reported no serious violent
crimes during that year.10
-
A report from the
Surgeon General, released in 2000, suggests that youth violence
is down since 1993, that the nation’s schools are relatively
safe, and that the decline in homicide arrests since 1994 has
primarily reflected the decline in the use of firearms.11
References
-
U.S.
Census Bureau, National Estimates, Annual Population Estimates
by Age Group and Sex, Selected Years from 1990 to 2000. Available
from the U.S. Census Bureau; www.census.gov/population/estimates/nation/intfile2-1.txt
-
Teen
Risk-Taking: A Statistical Portrait.
Authors: L. Duberstein Lindberg, S. Boggess, L. Porter, S. Williams.
2000. Available from The Urban Institute, 2100 M Street, N.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20037; (202) 261-5709, fax (202) 728-0232; www.urban.org/family/TeenRiskTaking.html.
-
Teens
and Their Parents in the 21st Century: An Examination
of Trends in Teen Behavior and the Role of Parental Involvement.
Author: Council of Economic Advisers. 2000. Available from the
Council of Economic Advisers; http://clinton4.nara.gov/media/pdf/CEAreport.pdf
-
America’s
Children: Key National Indicators of Well-Being 2000. Author:
Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics. 2000.
Available from the National Maternal Child Health Clearinghouse,
2070 Chain Bridge Road, Suite 450, Vienna, VA 22182; (703) 356-1964;
http://childstats.gov/ac2000/ac00.asp
-
Talking
With Teens: The YMCA Parent and Teen
Survey Final Report. Author: Global Strategy Group. 2000. Available
from Global Strategy Group, Inc., 611 Broadway, Suite 206, New
York, NY 10012; (212) 260-8813, fax (212) 260-9058; www.ymca.net/presrm/research/teensurvey.htm
-
Protecting
Adolescents From Harm: Findings from the National Longitudinal
Study on Adolescent Health. 1997. Journal of the American
Medical Association, Vol. 278, No. 10. September 10, 1997.
Available from the Journal of the American Medical Association,
P.O. Box 10946, Chicago, IL 60610-0946; (800) 262-2350, fax
(312) 464-5831.
-
Summary
of Findings from the 1999 National
Household Survey on Drug Abuse. Author: Substance Abuse and
Mental Health Services Administration. 2000. Available from
the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information,
P.O. Box 2345, Rockville, MD 20847-2345; (800)729-6686; www.samhsa.gov/oas/nhsda/2kdetailedtabs/Preface.htm#TopOfPage
-
Trends
in the Well-Being of America’s Children & Youth, 1999. Author:
U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of the
Assistant Secretary for Planning and Evaluation. Available from
Child Trends, Inc., 4301 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Suite 100,
Washington, D.C. 20008; (202) 362-5580, fax (202) 362-5533;
http://aspe.hhs.gov/hsp/99trends/index.htm
-
Juvenile
Offenders and Victims: 1999 National Report. Authors: H. Snyder
and M. Sickmund, National Center for Juvenile Justice. Published
by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.
Available from the National Criminal Justice Reference Service,
P.O. Box 6000, Rockville, MD 20849-6000; (301) 519-5500, (800)
851-3420, fax (301) 519-5212; http://www.ncjrs.org/html/ojjdp/nationalreport99/toc.html
-
Indicators
of School Crime and Safety, 2000. Authors: U.S. Departments
of Education and Justice. Available from the National Criminal
Justice Reference Service, P.O. Box 6000, Rockville, MD 20849-6000;
(301) 519-5500, (800) 851-3420, fax (301) 519-5212; http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2001/crime2000/
-
Youth
Violence: A Report of the Surgeon General. Author: Office of
the Surgeon General. 2000. Available from Superintendent of
Documents, P.O. Box 371954, Pittsburgh, PA 15250-7954; (202)
512-1800, fax (202) 512-2250; www.surgeongeneral.gov/library/youthviolence/default.htm.
|