Adolesent Self-Portrait Essay - 868 Words

Adolescent Self-Portrait Paper March 4th, 2013 BSHS/325 When they were young teenagers, most of the participants had fairly healthy behaviors. Whats really alarming is how rapidly healthy practices declined by the time the participants reached young adulthood. — Christine Bachrach (Adolescence Quotes | Quotes about Adolescence, n.d.). Adolescence is a time to dramatic change, challenges, and growth, it is a miraculous that anyone survives. The experience of adolescence has not changed much until recently because of the access to technology. Prior to this adolescence was a predictable period of growth, a rite of passage for many young people. What it feels like to be an†¦show more content†¦During this time of high hormones, there is a desire to fulfill a need to try risky activities. These risky activities can be sexual experiences, alcohol, drugs, or a number of other activities. Communication between parent and adolescent is the best way to ensure they understand the consequences of their actions and have the opportunity to ask questions and receive clarification if there is anything they do not understand about what they are feeling. Differences between males and females The most critical and vulnerable stage of human development happens during adolescence typically through ages 12 to 17 years this time is when females and males experience different social, biological, and cognitive changes. During this stage, millions of adolescents experiment with substance use and engage themselves in behaviors that can affect their healthy psychological and neurological development. A nationwide study was conducted by NSDUH (National Survey on Drug Use and Health) that resulted in the rates of the perception of risk associated with marijuana use and cigarette smoking are significantly higher for adolescent females than for adolescent males. Approximately 2.6 million adolescents nationwide used illicit drugs in the past month; 1,825,000 used marijuana and 1.3 million used an illicit drug other than marijuana. In adolescents males and females will at times