Long-term health consequences for young people

Why youth need our help

• Everyday nearly 1 million people acquire a new STI; adolescents and young adults suffer the highest rates. One in four sexually active teens acquires an STI each year.
• NJ ranks 9th among states in populations, but remains 5th in the total of number of AIDS cases reported, with half of all new HIV infections occurring in people under age 25.
• There were more than 120,700 teen births in New Jersey between 1991 and 2004.
• 1 in 5 high school students reported being physically and/or sexually abused by a dating partner.
• 90% of LGBT youth say that they are victimized and 25% LGBT youth stay home from school because they don’t feel safe.

The consequences for young people

• Undetected and untreated STIs can cause infertility, cervical cancer, chronic liver disease, infant blindness and maternal mortality.
• Teenage mothers complete 1.9 to 2.2 fewer years of education than women who give birth when they are 30 or older, contributing to lifelong financial struggles.
• Dating violence against adolescent girls is associated with increased substance use, unhealthy weight control behaviors, sexual risk behaviors, pregnancy, and suicidality.
• Victimized or abused adolescents show impaired health up to a decade later or more, including depression, suicide attempts, sexually transmitted infections, and risk for HIV.

The consequences for the community

New Jersey taxpayers alone paid $167 million in taxes in 2004 for public health care, child welfare, incarceration, and lost tax revenue due to decreased earning and spending of teen mothers.”

National Campaign To Prevent Teen Pregnancy, The Public Costs of Teen Childbearing in New Jersey, November 2006

The long-term effects of victimization, abuse and violence cost the nation approximately $700 billion in 1998—excluding education, welfare, and juvenile justice expenditures that can be attributed to the unaddressed physical, emotional, and behavioral health problems of adolescents.”

Adolescent Medicine: State of the Art Review, Long-term Consequences of Adolescent Health Behaviors, 1999