TEEN AGE

"Teen pregnancy is at the root of nearly every other social problem in the U.S.," according to Joycelyn Elders, MD, who was the keynote speaker at a recent American Academy of Pediatrics meeting.

Look at the Figures: -90% of Americans who are currently serving time in U.S. prisons were born to teenage mothers. Pregnancy is the leading reason young girls drop out of high school. The public-assistance tab for teen mothers and their children in 1991 was $26 billion. 

American Medical News.

Teen facts. Since the popular push for contraceptives for teens began, teenage sexual activity and pregnancy have increased 400%. 70% of unwed teen mothers will go on welfare.  Of teens who marry because of pregnancy, 60% will be divorced in five years.

Josh McDowell, Family Happiness is Homemade, Vol. 14, No. 6, June 1990.

Why do teens drink? 66% cited stress and boredom, 25% said they drink to get high, and 31 percent said they drink alone. In 1989 3000 teens between the ages of 15 and 19 died in alcohol-related auto accidents. The favored drink among teenagers is wine coolers, but many choose beer because it is cheaper and easier to get. Students annually consume 35 percent of all wine coolers sold in the U.S. or 31 million gallons. They also consume 1.1 billion cans of beer, or 102 million gallons. 

Spokesman Review, December 30, 1991, p. B1.