At Risk Youth

A company in Switzerland has announced plans to manufacture extra small condoms for boys as young as 12 years old.

Lamprecht A.G. developed “the Hotshot” after a government study in Switzerland conducted on behalf of the Federal Commission for Children and Youth found that boys ages 12 to 14 years old were engaging in risky sexual behaviors because they were less well-informed and could not use standard-sized condoms.

The researchers, who interviewed 1,480 children ages 10 to 20 years old, found an increase in sexual activity among younger age groups when compared to the prevalence of such behaviors in the 1990s.

Drug runners have found a new way to transport their cargo: teenagers. In a Feb 26 report, Jeff Powers of San Diego 6 News described the increased use of teenagers as drug smugglers:

These are the latest statistics from U.S. Customs and Border Protection:

* In 2007, there were 23 reported arrests.
* In 2008, 175 cases.
* In 2009, 238 cases.

Jackie Dizdul is with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection. She says of the cartels, “All they care about is money. They’re going to use these kids in whatever way. They’re going to use whatever they think they can do, to try to beat us.” …

“We think that the drug smuggling operations are basically telling these kids, ‘you’re gonna walk away with a slap on the wrist,’ and it’s simply not true,” said Dizdul. “These kids can face jail time. They can face stiff monetary penalties, and they can just face the fact of what it does to your future to have something like this on your criminal record.”

In December 2009, the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) issued its most recent “Monitoring the Future” report on substance abuse among young people. Amid some disappointing results, some good news did emerge:

• Cigarette smoking is at its lowest point in the history of the survey on all measures among students in grades 8, 10, and 12.
• Between 2004 and 2009, a drop in past-year use of methamphetamine was reported for all grades, and lifetime use dropped significantly among 8th-graders.
• Among 10th- and 12th-graders, 5-year declines were reported for past-year use of amphetamines and cocaine.
• From 2004 to 2009, decreases were observed in lifetime, past-year, past-month, and binge use of alcohol across the three grades surveyed.
• Attitudes toward substance abuse, often seen as harbingers of change in use, showed many favorable changes.

The findings listed above were posted on the NIDA website, www.drugabuse.gov.

About 3,500 teenagers ages 15 to 19 years old (approximately nine every week) die in automobile accidents every year, according to new statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Car crashes remain the number one cause of death for teenagers. Boys die in car crashes at twice the rate of girls, but some experts think that may be changing because new studies show that girls are becoming more aggressive.

Most states are requiring tougher standards for driver’s licenses, such as more time in behind the wheel training, limiting the number of passengers in a teenagers’ cars, and not allowing teenagers to drive at night.

For the past year, MSNBC’s “Elkhart Project” has been providing viewers and readers with a personal look at the impact of the economic downturn as experienced by the citizens of Elkhart, Indiana.

In the project’s latest article, MSNBC reporter Kari Huus wrote about the challenges facing 19-year-old Nate Howell and his pregnant girlfriend, 17-year-old Samantha Keith:

Now, facing parenthood, he and Samantha are in a tough spot — one that tends to come with a high price. Research shows that people who have children in their teens are less likely to get a high school diploma or go on to college. They tend to earn less in the working world, and children born to these teens struggle to keep up with their peers. For many, beating back poverty becomes the overriding concern.

“The data is overwhelming that teen pregnancy has a negative impact on education and employment,” says James Wagoner, president of Advocates for Youth, a Washington, D.C.,-based nonprofit. “While that is a problem during any economic cycle, it becomes even more of a negative during a recession.”

After declining for 15 years, the teen pregnancy rate is now on the rise in the United States, which has by far the highest rate in the industrialized world.