Who are at-risk youth? How do substandard living conditions contribute to this problem. Would you add other factors to those addressed in the text as putting youth at risk? Provide a rationale for your view

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

• Troubles in the home, the school, and the neighborhood, coupled with health and developmental hazards, have placed a significant portion of American youth at risk.
• Youths considered at risk are those dabbling in various forms of dangerous conduct such as drug abuse, alcohol use, and precocious sexuality.
• They are living in families that, because of economic, health, or social problems, are unable to provide adequate care and discipline.
• Millions of children now live in substandard housing—high-rise, multiple-family dwellings—which can have a negative influence on their long-term psychological health.
• Adolescents living in deteriorated urban areas are prevented from having productive and happy lives.
• Many die from random bullets and drive-by shootings.
• Some are homeless and living on the street, where they are at risk of drug addiction and sexually transmitted diseases (STDs), including AIDS.
• Today about one-third of U.S. households with children have one or more of the following three housing problems:
o physically inadequate housing
o crowded housing
o housing that costs more than 30% of the household income
• Despite the fact that the minimum wage has increased to more than $6.50 per hour, the poor can barely afford to live in even the lowest-cost neighborhoods of metro areas such as Chicago, New York, and Washington, DC.
• Student answers will vary.