In 1995, the black infant mortality rate was 2.4 times higher than the white infant mortality rate, as compared with 1980 when the black rate was 2 times higher than the white rate. In 1994, there were 37.6 births per 1,000 females aged 15-17, totaling 195,169 births. White students have highest rates of smoking. Youths age 12-17 are more likely than adults to be victims of violent crimes. In 1994, almost 2.6 million youth were victims of violent crimes, or 118 per 1,000 youths.
Black youth are generally more likely to be victims of violent crime.
Hispanics have consistently had lower high school completion rates than blacks or whites. White high school graduates ages 25 to 29 are more likely than either black or Hispanic high school graduates in the same age group to have earned a bachelor's degree. In 1993, the rate of child abuse was 23.1 children per 1,000, under age 18. This translates into 1.6 million children as the victims of maltreatment, either abuse or neglect.