Ypulse - Media for the Next Generation:
"That's my theory -- not backed up by anything except what I put my own parents through. I came across this story by Pegine Echevarria, MSW, an author/expert on youth who wrote a book on the importance of teen girls having mentors (i.e. someone other than mom or dad to talk to). Here's the scary part -- she lists the 13 crisis a teen girl is most likely to tell a mentor but not a parent (this list should keep any parent of a teen girl up at night):
1. 'I had sex last night.' -- 53.1% of all high school students have had sexual intercourse at some point; 14.5% have had sex with four or more partners.
2. 'I had unprotected sex.' -- Nearly half of currently sexually active high school students did not report using condoms during their last sexual intercourse.
3. 'I'm pregnant.' -- 25% of all first births in this country are to teen mothers aged 15-19 years old.
4. 'I've been smoking for awhile -- Smoking among teenage girls is rising. If a girl begins to smoke, the habit usually begins between the ages of 10 and 16.
5. 'I got drunk last night.' -- The percentage of eighth graders reporting daily use of alcohol rose by nearly half between 1995 and 1996. Nearly a third of high school seniors reported having been drunk in the past month.
6. 'I want to kill myself.' -- 29% of adolescent girls reported having thoughts of suicide. From 1980 to 1992, the rate of suicide among young white females increased 233 per cent.
7. 'I throw up after each meal.' -- Eating disorders are a particularly pronounced risk for girls, and they're likely to be connected in complex ways to a girl's relationship to her parents.
8. 'My mom doesn't care about me.' -- Nearly half of girls surveyed did not name their mother as the person to whom they would turn for emotional support.
9. 'I hate myself.' -- Nearly one in every four girls surveyed exhibited depressive symptoms; one in ten showed 'severe' depressive symptoms. Girls scored notably worse in this area than boys did.
10. 'I want the pill.' -- The leading reason adolescents gave for not getting needed medical care or birth control consultation was reluctance to tell parents about a problem or situation.
11. 'He hit me.' -- One study found 'disturbingly high incidence of violence,' with 18% of girls in grades 5 through 12 reporting some form of physical or sexual abuse.
12. '(An older male friend or relative) keeps coming on to me/sending me love notes..' Most abuse occurs at home, occurs more than once, and occurs as a result of the actions of a family member or friend of the family. Girls may have serious reactions of shame, guilt and self-hatred following these episodes.
13. 'This guy made me do something I didn't want to do.' Nearly one in ten older girls answered 'yes' when asked whether 'a boyfriend or a date has ever forced sex against your will.'"
