The complex and demanding requirements for social and individual development challenge youth and society and, like all challenges, they involve some risks.
All youngsters face some risk factors at some time.
Health hazards, accidents, uncaring parents or uninspired teachers, the temptations of drugs, tobacco, and alcohol, too-early pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, and the anguish of loneliness can plague teenagers regardless of family background or where they live. Growing up entails greater risks for some than for others. Poverty, for example, compounds and exacerbates the risks that all young people face, and presents some, such as hunger or homelessness, which are a cost of being poor. Youngsters from racial or ethnic minorities, and recent immigrants and refugees, often must contend with all of the risks that attend poverty, while prejudice, bias, and differential access to opportunity structures further increase their risks of failure in life. For poor and minority youngsters, risk factors tend to be multiple and have greater impact because of the absence of social supports to mitigate them.