6 Approximately 900,000 youths younger than 20 get pregnant every year. Many young people are thrown out of their homes, mistreated, or become the focus of the family's dysfunction. 13 Several studies have shown evidence that LGBT youth are at a higher risk of suicide than are their heterosexual peers. In one study, gay and bisexual adolescent males were shown to be seven times more likely to attempt suicide than their heterosexual peers. Girls are twice as likely as boys to experience depression during adolescence.
Girls are also more likely than boys to seriously consider and attempt suicide.
Girls' participation in sports is linked to decreased incidences of depression, pregnancy, dropping out of school, and smoking initiation among teenage girls. Parents rate high among many teens as trustworthy and preferred sources of information on birth control. Only 12 percent say they trust a friend for such information. 8 Teenagers who have strong emotional attachments to their parents are much less likely to become sexually active at an early age. Among one sample of high school students in Washington, sexual abuse is strongly associated with risk for adolescent pregnancy, primarily through the strong association between sexual abuse and high-risk sexual behavior.