HSCI 430
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STATX Project
My research was about substance abuse and sexual activity adolescents of varying ethnicities. I
chose to investigate two health factors instead of one health factor to see the relationship
between these.
Health Factor:
Substance abuse and sexual activity in teens between the 7-12th grade
Population Group:
Substance abuse &sexual activity in teens of White, Black, and Hispanics races
7th- 8th
Grade, %
7th- 8th
Grade, %
7th- 8th
Grade, %
9-12th
Grade, %
9-12th
Grade, %
9-12th
Grade, %
White
(n=2627)
Hispanic
(n=453)
Black
(n=562)
White
(n=5057)
Hispanic
(n=902)
Black
(n=1176)
Smoked
≥1cigarette
in past 30
days
19.2 13.9 12.2 37.5 24.6 14.7
Drank any
alcohol in
past 12
month
29.3 29.0 22.7 60.9 53.5 42.7
Ever had
sexual
intercourse
10.8 16.1 36.9 45.9 46.6 66.9
Source: American Journal of Public Health 2000
Percent of adolescents who report smoking cigarettes in the past month, 1996-1997, 2014,
and 2015
Source: www.hhs.gov 2018
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Source: https://www.guttmacher.org 2018
Summary of Data
Teenagers are a tricky demographic. They are all navigating through life with no
experience of idea which way to go. As we see there are many things that they face during this
growth. For one we can evaluate both genders from 7th grade through 12th grade to get a better
idea of what happens at every level. When looking at the figure from the American Journal of
Public Health, we see that between 12 and 38 percent of adolescents have tried smoking at one
point in time. Specifically, we noticed that the highest number is 37.5% of white children from
9th to 12th grade have smoked 1 or more cigarettes in the past 30 days. The Hispanic population
followed closely behind with the same grade level at 24.6%.
As we move on to another issue teenagers face, drinking alcohol we notice that the
numbers are also staggering. Of all the categories, White students that were from the 9th to 12th
grade category poled that 60.9% have had a drink in the last 12 months. When we observe more
closely that by 12th grade almost 60% of adolescents have had a drink of alcohol at one point or
another from information gathered by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.
We can also observe that 20.5% of females between the ages of 16-17 years old have had alcohol
as compared to 19.7% of males.
Sexual intercourse is something a lot of parents have anxiety over. This could be due to
the fact that this could be long term consequences and decisions a young teen does not think
about. According to the Guttmacher institute by the time of graduation from high school, over
50% of females and males have had sexual intercourse. This poll is for adolescents within the
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United States only. The rate does seem alarming but there is good news that almost 80% of the
females having sex for the first-time used contraceptives. According to the American Journal of
Public Health 66.9% of Black students between 9thand 12th grade have had sexual intercourse,
46.6% of Hispanics and 45.9% of white adolescents.
Relation to the field of pharmacy
Being in a pharmacy I have encountered many different situations. Starting off with teen
pregnancy and prevention. There is a stigma associated with putting teenagers on birth control
but to be honest with all the unplanned pregnancies this is a very good preventative plan. A
teenager does not know the first thing about being a parent because they are still children
themselves. It is also important to take our judgements out of the equation. I have encountered
many teenagers coming in to fill their birth control or to purchase condoms. I am sure they
already feel uncomfortable, but we need to remain respectful and not judgmental towards their
age because at least they are trying to be responsible. There is also the sale of the morning after
pill, emergency contraception. This went over the counter a few years ago and can be purchased
by anyone over the age of 17 with an ID otherwise you need to go to a clinic to get a
prescription. There are many walk in clinic that will provide teenagers with prescriptions for
emergency contraception. It is good to know that even though teenagers are not mentally
developed to make the best decisions, the statistics are showing trends of using protection and
preventing STI’s and pregnancy.
Alcohol and smoking are two large categories teenagers dive into. Being a mom and a
pharmacist, these things are worrisome to parents. Both these substances are harmful and can
even lead to even worse circumstances such as death if you decide to drive drunk or get into a
car with a drunk driver. Over the years smoking numbers have decreased as we have watched
the TRUTH commercials on TV. Laws have changed not allowing publication of smoking in
magazines or on tv or in movie theatres. Lots of laws have banned smoking in public, on school
campuses and within so many feet of building entrances. I have a friend that works at AbbVie
and they are a nonsmoking campus, you literally need to leave the facility and parking lot if you
want to smoke. CVS decided to pull cigarettes from their shelves a few years ago and refuse to
sell tobacco products. This is great for a healthcare company to do but at the end of the day
people will go elsewhere. Teenagers are also very susceptible to the newest smoking
technology, vaping. There is a huge issue happening with vaping in high schools across the
country. My own step-daughters school has had parent nights explaining the harms of vaping
and how to talk to your teenager. There are documentaries on YouTube regarding how this is
becoming an issue because kids think its harmless, but these products contain nicotine which is a
harmful substance and disrupts neurotransmitters.
Alcohol is another harmful substance that lands in the hands of many teenagers. As we
look in the graphs, an astounding 60.9% of white teenagers have had a drink during their high
school career. Working at CVS, we get training on teens trying to purchase alcohol or adults
purchasing for underage children. I also know what happens at high school parties because I get
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the information from the horse’s mouth. In order to help teenagers, make the best decisions we
need to be informed. I was not aware the numbers were so high in this category but nevertheless
we need to be open minded to the reality that our teens could be drinking and as a health care
provider I need to do my best to explain to them what goes on when they make the decision to
consume alcohol.
Implications
All racial groups have been affected by each category. It seems as though white students
are particularly susceptible to having the highest levels in the category of cigarette smoking and
drinking alcohol during the period of high school. This may be due to the fact that this is the
time when fitting in and exploration are most important. Sexual intercourse was highest amongst
African Americans between the 9th and 12th grade. Many of these things are learned behaviors. I
know that my mother smoked 2 packs a day and even though I was disgusted by it I still ended
up trying it. Curiosity is a powerful thing. Based on some of the research in the articles,
children of single parents were at higher risk for being sexually active during high school. The
life course particularly influences this research that African Americans are having sex earlier
than Hispanics or whites.
Alcohol and smoking are substances that we would like to leave out of kid’s hands if at
all possible but unfortunately White teenagers are the highest users of alcohol consumption in
high school between grades 9 and 12. They also have the highest number of tobacco use. Most
households contain alcohol and kids, and it is shown that parental supervision and monitoring is
a strong indicator of whether or not an adolescent will have poor decision making when it comes
to drinking alcohol. Being religious is another factor that is involved in alcohol use, African
Americans are generally more religious and more likely to belong to a church which has strong
anti-alcohol and substance use values. The Hispanic culture also has very strong connections
with church and tend to be much more religious therefor also explaining their lower numbers
with alcohol and smoking. It was also mentioned that children of parents who smoke are twice
as likely to smoke themselves, so it is a generational issue as well. Since the highest number of
smokers are middle aged white women this makes sense as to why white teenagers are more
likely to smoke.
Ideas to assist in trying to resolve these three categories would be effective education
programs. When I was in grade school, we had D.A.R.E. It has come to my attentions that this
program has no evidence of being proven effective. The program itself was tailored more for
children in grade school and as we age, we change our outlook and behavior. We start
developing our own judgements and opinions. Scare tactics are not beneficial either. What I
suggest would be an educational class but also an open forum for students to understand they
have a support system within their school. Many students may not have this at home.
In school education in smaller groups may be beneficial and not intimidating, even one
on one counseling sessions. Doing in class questionnaires that are confidential may give
students and administration insight on what these teens are struggling with. Education on
making the correct decisions that will not ruin their futures. Alcohol companies, tobacco
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companies and drug companies should make funds available for these sorts of school programs.
If you are promoting your birth control, whiskey or cigarettes the you should set a certain
amount of profit aside for programs in schools, especially more at-risk schools where students
may not have a good family structure but find the support they need within the classroom.
Conclusion
Learning about sexual intercourse, alcohol and tobacco use among our youth was
challenging to take in. These things exist but I never thought they were so prevalent. Teens that
are sexually active has always been an issue with unplanned pregnancy or STI’s. The show
‘Teen Mom’ on MTV is very enlightening of the struggles teenagers face when they decide to
not take the right precautions prior to having intercourse. Teen pregnancy is on the decline as
opposed to many years ago, the education is there even if it does come from a reality TV show.
Clinics are available to students for walk ins, and in many states, you do not need a parent when
it comes to reproductive health. If you request birth control at Planned Parenthood, you cannot
be turned away.
Finding the differences between different races of adolescents was very interesting. Not
knowing that white adolescent has the highest number of alcohol and tobacco use sparked a lot
of interest as to why. There are so many answers to this question but none of the studies done
give enough concrete evidence. The findings are that it comes from a number of different
possibilities, family related, social relations, peer relations, religious affiliations. The studies
need to ask deeper questions as to “why did you start smoking?” or “who introduced you to
alcohol and why did you start drinking?” The answers are out there we just need to dig deeper.
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Works Cited
Adolescent and School Health. (2018, June 14). Retrieved November 25, 2018, from
https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/sexualbehaviors/
Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health in the United States. (2017, September 11). Retrieved
November 21, 2018, from https://www.guttmacher.org/fact-sheet/american-teens-sexual-and-
reproductive-health
Blum, R. W., MD, Beuhring, T., PhD, Shew, M. L., MD, Bearinger, L. H., PhD, Sieving, R. E.,
PhD, & Resnick, M. D., PhD. (2008, December). The Effects of Race/Ethnicity, Income, and
Family Structure on Adolescent Risk Behavior. Retrieved November 25, 2018, from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1446419/.
CDC - Fact Sheets-Underage Drinking - Alcohol. (n.d.). Retrieved November 24, 2018, from
https://www.cdc.gov/alcohol/fact-sheets/underage-drinking.htm
Klima, T., PhD, Skinner, M. L., PhD, Haggerty, K. P., PhD, & Catalano, R. F., PhD. (2014,
September). Exploring Heavy Drinking Patterns Among Black and White Young Adults.
Retrieved November 23, 2018, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4161703/.
Kusunoki, Y., Barber, J. S., Ela, E. J., & Bucek, A. (2016, October). Black-White Differences in Sex
and Contraceptive Use Among Young Women. Retrieved November 24, 2018, from
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5050155/.
Office of Adolescent Health. (2016, September 23). Adolescents and Tobacco: Trends. Retrieved
November 25, 2018, from https://www.hhs.gov/ash/oah/adolescent-development/substance-
use/drugs/tobacco/trends/index.html
Parenthood, P. (n.d.). Teen Health Care & Confidentiality. Retrieved November 24, 2018, from
https://www.plannedparenthood.org/planned-parenthood-nassau-county/teen-peer-education/test-
page2
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Statistics Sexual Activity. (n.d.). Retrieved November 25, 2018, from
http://recapp.etr.org/recapp/index.cfm?fuseaction=pages.StatisticsDetail&PageID=555
Tobacco Use in Racial and Ethnic Populations. (n.d.). Retrieved November 21, 2018, from
https://www.lung.org/stop-smoking/smoking-facts/tobacco-use-racial-and-ethnic.html
Underage Drinking. (n.d.). Retrieved November 25, 2018, from
https://pubs.niaaa.nih.gov/publications/UnderageDrinking/UnderageFact.htm