| Abstrakt: |
The article presents information on health concerns of African American youth in the U.S. Each year more than one million American teenagers become pregnant. Of those, one half million give birth. Most of these adolescents are unmarried, and many are not ready for the responsibilities and demands of parenthood. It is also known that condom use is lower and teen pregnancy higher in occurrence in African American teens. This places African American teens at higher risk for HIV/AIDS. African American teens make up 15% of the American adolescent population, but in some cities account for 38% of the AIDS cases among this group. African American teens show the greatest risk for sexually transmitted diseases with age-adjusted rates in Black males being 15 times higher than their White counterparts. In addition, when compared to White females, Black adolescent females show increased risk of death due to pelvic inflammatory disease and syphilis. American youth also struggle with alcohol and drug addiction and limited access to health care. |
