Study finds 15% of teens believe they will die at a young age

June 29, 2009|Associated Press

CHICAGO - A surprising number of teenagers - nearly 15 percent - think they’re going to die young, leading many to drug use, suicide attempts, and other unsafe behavior, new research suggests.

The study, based on a survey of more than 20,000 youths, challenges conventional wisdom that says teens engage in risky behavior because they think they’re invulnerable to harm.

Instead, a sizable number of teens may take chances “because they feel hopeless and figure that not much is at stake,’’ said Dr. Iris Borowsky, author of the study and a researcher at the University of Minnesota.

That behavior threatens to turn their views into a self-fulfilling prophecy. Over seven years, teens who thought they would die early were seven time more likely than optimistic youths to be diagnosed later with AIDS. They were also more likely to attempt suicide and get in fights resulting in serious injuries.

Borowsky said the magnitude of teens with a negative outlook was eye-opening. Adolescence is “a time of great opportunity and for such a large minority of youth to feel like they don’t have a long life ahead of them was surprising,’’ she said.

The study appears in the July issue of Pediatrics, released today.

The study also provides evidence that some teens may have good reason for feeling hopeless. Native Americans, blacks and low-income teens - those who are disproportionately exposed to violence and hardship - were more likely than whites to believe that they would die young.

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