Motor vehicle injuries are the leading cause of death among adolescents and half of these involve drinking and driving. For every adolescent who commits suicide, an estimated 50 to 200 attempt it. More than 40 percent of seniors have used marijuana or other illicit drugs. Although cigarette smoking has declined in adults, there has been little or no decline in smoking among adolescents in the past decade. One million teen-agers become pregnant each year.
Pregnancy is the most common reason for school dropout among girls.
More than half of all adolescents ages 15 to 19 have had intercourse and one-quarter of these youth have had at least one sexually transmitted disease before leaving high school. Although AIDS is far less common among teen-agers than adults, the long period of time between infection and illness suggests many adults with AIDS were infected during adolescence. Teen Reads Check your local bookstore for books about puberty and adolescence, written for parents and adolescents. Changing Bodies, Changing Lives, by Ruth Bell, Vintage Books, 1988. Caring for Your Adolescent, by the American Academy of Pediatrics, Bantam Books, 1996.