A study of 800 young people ages ten to 24 years old found that those from low income backgrounds were twice as likely to say that they had sex by age 11 , and more likely to say they were involved in criminal activities by age 10.
Middle-class youth were 1.5 times more likely to say they had abused alcohol by age ten years.
No one is sure if low income participants in the study were more likely to get into risky behaviors in early ages or simply more likely to admit to doing them.
However, those children in the study who had gotten involved at very young ages with unprotected sex, delinquency, and alcohol were more likely to be involved in crime, alcohol abuse, and risky sex as young adults.
"Crime, alcohol use disorders, and risky sex are common among young adults, especially those from low income backgrounds. These problems are costly to address, and they decrease the health and well-being of young people, and usually began during young adolescence," according to lead author W. Alex Mason.
The study appears in the Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry.
Labels: sex, juvenile crime, alcohol_abuse
Posted By: CRC Health