ge.
The ten major causes of adolescent mortality are selected because there is perhaps nothing that could be more personally relevant to students than factors which effect high levels of mortality for this population. Substance abuse is selected because alcohol and drug use are increasing among American teens making it an important health problem (Papalia & Olds, 1995).
However, substance abuse is important because in many instances factors that cause teen mortality (e.g., suicide, homicide, accidents and injury) tend to be associated with substance abuse. For example, Manson and Collison (1995) report that for many adolescent males (and some girls) abuse of alcohol is almost a "rite of passage." Thus, teens feel pressure to drink substantial amounts and to do so often. Many of these teens are said to be involved in criminal behavior and/or fatal automobile accidents.
In another study, Kinnier, Metha, Keim and Okey (1994) examined for relationships between depression, meaninglessness, suicide ideation, and substance abuse f
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