Young People at Risk: Is Prevention Possible?

This book focuses on ineffective adolescent behavior and evaluates prevention programs. In addition, the purpose is to assess the current efforts to reduce adolescent behavior such as drunk driving, teenage pregnancy, and dropping out of school. Also considered is whether prevention programs are effective in reducing the individual and social costs of disability and death resulting from such destructive behavior. It is noted that race and income are not determining factors in accounting for drunk driving among adolescents and young adults. However, race, poverty, and single-parent households go far to account for the vast majority of adolescents who become pregnant, use drugs, or drop out of school. A chapter is devoted to statistics, prevention, and deterrent strategies of adolescent drunk driving. Another explores teenage pregnancy, the programmatic approaches, and services. Drug use is discussed in another chapter, with prevention methods emphasized. The final issue focused upon is the intervention of students dropping out of school. The last chapter discusses possible prevention measures for each of the above issues.