The older generations view emerging adulthood as a group of individuals who lack discipline and express self-destructive behavior’s for no apparent reason, however studies have shown that it is more complex and dynamic than just lacking discipline. The group comprising emerging adults surpasses every other group in the use of drugs, alcohol, and sexually transmitted diseases (STD’s). Emerging adults have a feeling of being “in-between” and are focused on figuring out who they are while trying to reach stability (financially and emotionally) in a world with ample opportunities and myriad distractions. There is a dynamic interaction between biological, psychological, and social factors that drive this unique stage of development and …show more content…
Research conducted by Hingson (2005) estimated that “1,825 college students between the ages of 18 and 24 die from alcohol-related unintentional injuries, including motor vehicle crashes.” Noting as well that “696,000 students” of the same age group were assaulted by another student that was drunk and “97,000 students reported alcohol related sexual assault or date rape” (Hingson et al, 2005). The National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) found that men were more likely to obtain an accidental injury than women. About 13% of men sustained an accidental injury compared to about 7.5% of the women, noting that the age group was 18-24 and was significantly higher than any other age group (NCHS, 2014). In the category of STD’s, emerging adults once again take the lead compared to other age groups. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that “young people aged 15-24 years acquire half of all the new STD’s and that 1 in 4 sexually active adolescent females have an STD (CDC, 2014). The statistics speak for themselves, however, they do not explain why this particular group’s behavior is more destructive relative to the other stages of development. In comparing the destructive behaviors of emerging adults with other stages, several factors have to be considered, one of which is biological.
Brain maturation, primarily the area of the brain responsible for
There is a definite correlation between alcohol and sexual assault. A sexual assault can be defined as a sexual act occurring without verbal consent, or when force is used in a sexual encounter against the other person's will. Of all the men who admit to committing sexual assault, 55% report being under the influence of alcohol at the time, with 26% of the men being drunk (Stanford University, 1999). Of all the women who report being sexually assaulted, 53% of them report being under the influence of alcohol, with 21% of these women being drunk (Stanford University, 1999). These facts suggest that alcohol is a major factor in sexual assaults. Crimes such as these could be greatly reduced if
Emerging adults have reached a step up from childhood but are not yet ready to fully take on adult responsibilities. This part of life is open to many new experiences which can be very good for the morality of this upcoming generation of adults. People find themselves changing majors in college or taking different classes to explore their interests and find out where they best belong in their future career field.
Studies show that the national average for an adolescent’s first sexual intercourse encounter is seventeen years old. Despite this number being very close to the average age in other industrialized countries, the United States holds a higher percentage of teenage pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease (STD) contraction than those countries (Harper et al, 2010, p. 125). It’s becoming evident that while a majority of the nation’s youth is sexually active, they are not doing so with the appropriate knowledge to keep themselves and others healthy.
Teens who drink are at higher risk for date rape, pregnancy, HIV and other STDs, assault, drowning, alcohol poisoning, alcohol dependency, DUI-related injury and death (yours and/or others)
Teens end up getting sexually transmitted diseases because they are unaware of the consequences of unprotected sex. No abstinence-only program affected the incidence of unprotected vaginal sex (The Australian). Annually 3 million teenagers contract STDs from their partner (Robert Rector). Teens who have early sex not only suffer from STDs, they also have emotional and physical damage. Research shows that young people who become sexually
"Approximately four million teens get a sexually transmitted disease every year" (Scripps 1). Today’s numbers of sexually active teens differ greatly from that of just a few years ago. Which in return, projects that not only the risk of being infected with a sexually transmitted disease (STD) has risen, but the actual numbers of those infected rise each year as well. These changes have not gone unnoticed. In fact have produced adaptations as to how society educates its young adults about sex, using special programs, various advertising, and regulating sexual education courses in public schools. One major adaptation is the advancement and availability of
Although the rate of college drinking has begun to decrease, the dangerous situations that occur due to drinking remains high. These dangers include drunk driving, unconsentual sex, assault, and suicide. In particular, women tend to be taken advantage of sexually more often if they have been consuming alcohol. These situations that occur are largely due to the fact that college students binge drink whenever they consume alcoholic beverages. Binge drinking also leads to higher incidences of alcohol poisoning, as the body is unable to filter out the same alcohol as it is consumed.
Being an adult is the number one thing that children want to be: The desire to get older to do things that you want when you want and having no one say otherwise. However, what is an adult? An ambiguous term that really falls into the hands of the individual, where at Sixteen you can drive, eighteen you can vote, and twenty-one you can drink, for those in the USA, all varying ages that individuals could use as indications of adulthood. Robin Heinig wrote and article “What is it about 20- somethings?” where she discusses Arnett’s proposal about a new developmental stage, “Emerging Adulthood”. Jeffrey Jensen Arnett, an American professor in psychology, believes that we aren 't entering adulthood till the later portions of our twenties. For some, this may be true but for the general population including myself I find this hard to believe. Leo Hendry’s article, “How universal is emerging adulthood? An empirical example”, on emerging adulthood gives a deeper understanding to what this generation 's kids are going through. The late teens are a crucial part to the lives of a young adult. It 's the time that we spend trying to identify ourselves, escape the circumstance that we are put into at a younger age, or just had a better family income. Arnett is not wrong, but all other external factors need to be accounted for before we know, or even consider if emerging adulthood is a new developmental stage.
In addition, 90% of all violence on college campuses is alcohol related, 80% of all males who commit date rape on college campuses are drunk or have been drinking, 55% of all victims of college date rape/rape are drunk or have been drinking, 55% of all successful suicides on college campuses begin with a drink, and the number one cause of death for all males from the ages of 16 to 25 are all alcohol related incidents (Booze News pars. 1-15).
Over 15 million STD’s are contracted in the U.S. each year (Koumans et al., 2005). Over one one-fifth of these cases involve two of the most commonly known STDs: chlamydia and gonorrhea (Koumans et al., 2005) Unfortunately, most of the individuals who get infected with these diseases fall into the age range of 15-24 years old (Koumans et al., 2005). According to Wyatt & Oswalt (2014), almost half of all STD’s contracted each year are by young people ages 15-24 years old. Moreover, the data shows that, “45% of herpes infections, 70% of gonorrhea infections, 63% of chlamydia infections, and 49% of HPV infections occur among youth between the ages of 15-24 years” (Wyatt & Oswalt, 2014). Given that many college students are between the ages of 18-24 years, it is important that schools focus on educating students about the risk of
Since “alcohol appears to enhance interest in sex,” (Hart & Ksir, 2015, p. 221) young people drink and could engage in sexual risky behavior such as having unprotected sex or casual sex with multiple partners. A consequence of unprotected sex could be an unwanted pregnancy or a sexual transmitted disease. Many studies have found that drinking alcohol at the time of the offense have been reported on more than one-third of all rapes and sexual assaults (Hart & Ksir, 2015). Alcohol impairs the thoughts and places the young adult drinking illegally at risk of sexual assault. The alcohol use increases the chance for sexual assault including rape.
Master of Professional Health Debra Hauser states that sexual education is an essential part of the development and growth of teenagers. In her article “Youth Health and Rights in Sex Education”, MPH Hauser provides a report of teenage pregnancies and STDs incidences, which points out that each year in the United States, about 750,000 teens become pregnant, with up to 82 percent of those pregnancies being unintended. Young people ages 15-24 account for 25 percent of all new HIV infections in the U.S (Hauser). According to Hauser, “sex education teaches young people the skills they need to protect themselves”, such as the ability to recognize patterns of a toxic relationships, learning to value and have control over their bodies, understanding
The article "Betwixt and Bewildered: Scholars are Intrigued by the Angst of "Emerging Adults" by Lynn Smith discusses a societal trend towards young adults (18-25) who are struggling to achieve the traditional markers of adulthood. The article covers some of the scholarly debate of the subject, wherein some researchers accept the phenomenon, others reject it, and between them they find little in the way of clear definition of the problem and its ramifications.
Another problem to consider is that underage drinking are able to lose control of their behaviour. Alcohol is related to unprotected sexual issues and sexual violence , such as: kidnapping, unplanned pregnancies, HIV infections, and sexually transmitted diseases. Those are commonly problems when teenagers had been drinking. According to the online researches, young people are rarely use a condom when they have been drinking that puts them at risk for unplanned pregnancies and sexually disease transmission to their partner. In other words, they decide to drink even though they realize that alcohol affects their decision making and may cause them to engage in sexual behaviors they would not do while sober.
There are five key features that characterize emerging adulthood. The first s identity exploration. The second is “Instability.” For many the instability is a result of residential changes such as living in a dorm. There is also instability in friendships, romantic relationships, academia, and work. Emerging adults have few obligations, responsibilities, and commitments. Because they have so much autonomy in controlling their own lives the third key feature is “Self-Focused.” One of the most difficult