The youth as risk takers and pleasure seekers

As I was watching a television show watching documentary show, I was appalled by some teenagers who are really becoming wilder to some extent. Wilder in the sense of engaging in early sex, multiple sex partners and even selling sex themselves. I decided to write something about adolescents and sexual behaviors.

Examples of risky behaviors - smoking, drinking and drugs.

We all know that during this stage, they want to test the limits, go beyond what is expected of them. Also young people are in a major transitional life stage as they start to disengage from their family and, as has been observed they are eager to achieve independence through risky actions. As such, they are oftentimes characterized as risk-takers and pleasure-seekers with sex as one of the array of risky behaviors which they engage in.

What makes youth sex risky is the increasing prevalence sex among the young of sexual practices such as early sex, non-marital sex, commercial sex, sex with multiple partners and unprotected sex, all of which are associated with a host of deleterious consequences which may severely compromise their health, education, economic situation and general wellbeing. Earlier age at initiation of sexual activity which oftentimes takes place without adequate protection are detrimental to young people since it poses heightened risk of unintended pregnancy which, in turn, precipitates either a hasty marriage or in many cases, end in abortion. When women in their teens give birth, health and mortality risks are significantly higher, both for the women themselves and for their children.

In addition, early entrance into family life as a result of teen pregnancy can have serious implications such as early termination of formal education and limited employment opportunities as well as greater financial difficulties and marital conflict. Young unmarried mothers also face social stigmas that can have harmful psychological and social impact.

Unprotected sex and sex with either casual partners, commercial sex workers or multiple partners are risk markers for exposure and transmission of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs) including HIV-AIDS. Sex outside marriage, specifically premarital sex, is generally viewed as socially unacceptable and undermines traditional moral values which may be psychologically damaging to young people especially in some countries.

Needless to say, the risks associated with these activities are magnified by their interconnectedness or what refer to as the “interrelated syndrome of risk behaviors.” Youth whose sexual debut comes early in life are more likely to have multiple sex partners, to practice unprotected sex and to turn to selling sex to make a living documented that American women whose first intercourse happened before age 15 are much more likely than those who initiated sex at later ages to have had recent multiple partners, to have had sex with a risky partner (either bisexual, an intravenous drug user or an HIV-infected man) and to have had a sexually-transmitted disease.

As I was writing this piece,I am thinking of my three adolescents son. I may try to write an article again about how can parents help so that the children will be of best knowledge of what the youth are undergoing through during this particualr stage in their lives.