Jun 30, 2009 2:10 pm US/Eastern
Shock Study: Many Teens Say They'll Die Before 35
Univ. Of Minnesota Study Polled 20,000 In Grades 7-12; 15 Percent See An Early Demise Thanks To Risky Lifestyle
WANTAGH, N.Y. (CBS) ―
Living fast and dying young - a new study finds a significant number of teens believe they could die before their 35th birthday.
CBS station WCBS-TV in New York spent the day with teenagers to determine why many think their lives could be cut so short.
Mike Sessa and Nick Simonelli Monday reacted to the surprising University of Minnesota study that says 15 percent of teens across America now believe they will die young.
"Honestly, I wake up every morning and I feel I don't know what's going to happen right now," Sessa said.
"Whatever age I live to as long as I have a good happy life, I will be happy in the end," Simonelli added.
Researchers found that among 20,000 teenagers studied, those who engaged in risky behavior thought they would die young - and that those who thought they would die young, as in before age 35, took more risks.
"Smoking, STDs gets in everybody's head, can't help feeling pessimistic," one teen said.
Parents who have lost children to drugs learned that the most pessimistic teens are the most likely to overdose, have unprotected sex and attempt suicide.
"People call us on our hotline … if we're trying to assess that they are thinking about suicide is that feeling of hopelessness and loss," said Theresa Buhse of the Long Island Crisis Center.
Counselors at the Long Island Crisis Center and professors at Hofstra University said suffering loss is a hardship difficult to overcome. Minority teens especially exposed to violence and trauma are the most likely to see a "short" road ahead, turning fatalism into a self fulfilling prophecy. Marking the time to intervene:
"I think it's important for them to be able to talk about it so that they know that somebody else, A. cares and B. can intervene at that point," said Hofstra professor Merry McVey-Noble.
But not everyone is feeling a sense of gloom and doom.
"I just graduated high school feeling awesome," one teen said, adding that living a long time is high on the priority list.
The study discovered fatalistic kids were not more likely to die than others. And researchers report pessimism fades over time.
"They develop a sense of hopelessness and a feeling that 'Hey,
not much is at stake, I'm going to die anyway,' so [they] engage in
risky behaviors," said Iris Borowsky, M.D., Ph.D.
The risky activities may include drug use, serious fighting, suicide
attempts and risky sexual behavior, Borowsky told CBS station WCCO-TV in Minneapolis.
Pessimism has been a growing trend among the children she cares for as
a pediatrician. To try to understand it, Borowsky and colleagues
analyzed data from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health
for 20,000 7th through 12th graders.
They discovered that the sense of hopelessness "was much more common
among youth of color and youth living in poverty," Borowsky said.
While only 10 percent of Caucasians in the study expected to die before
the age of 35, 29 percent of American Indians, 26 percent of black, 21
percent of Hispanics and 15 percent of Asians expected an early death.
As for the impact of poverty, the research found 25 percent of
teenagers living in households receiving public assistance give
themselves less than a 50 percent chance of making it to 35.
Borowsky said she is hoping the findings will encourage adults who have
daily contact with youth, such as parents, doctors, teachers and
coaches to help young people build hope for a more positive future.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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