Sexual harassment, assault, sex, pregnancy cause teen stress

The teenage years are a difficult time for both males and females. The problems high school students face on a daily basis can create physical and psychological obstacles directed by stressors of self-image, emotional control, dealings with the opposite sex, drugs, alcohol, and the hormonal imbalance of adolescent development. These stressors can lead to poor decision making and can easily affect a young adult’s potential future, both on a personal and criminal level.

According to the American Psychological Association, high school is the biggest stressor teenagers will face. The pressure on young adults to perform well in academics, sports, and extracurricular activities outside of the classroom can often lead young adults down the wrong path. Stressors can lead to poor decision making with fellow classmates, especially with the opposite sex. Some of these poor decisions may take shape in the form of sexual harassment or even sexual assault.

Sexual harassment is a serious problem that plagues high school students and has become a stepping stone for sexual assault. Sexual harassment can be verbal, such as comments about one’s body, spreading inappropriate rumors, or dirty jokes. Sexual harassment can also be physical, such as grabbing, rubbing, flashing and touching in a sexual manner. Sexual harassment can even be visual and result from sending or receiving inappropriate pictures from another student or displaying obscene gestures towards another student.

Most people assume sexual harassment only happens to females; however, that is simply not the case. Sexual harassment can happen to males as well. Females usually report being sexually harassed over males because males are more concerned with their ego. It’s easy to see where these types of sexual harassment can cross the line into a sexual assault. Inappropriate and unwanted touching, sending inappropriate photographs among students, and even recording various inappropriate acts, can all be considered a felony crime that will severely jeopardize any young adult’s future.

The interest level in sex by high school students has dramatically increased in recent years due to television, movies, music, the internet, social media and smart phones. This piqued interest level has created an environment where lewd and inappropriate messaging known as “sexting,” along with the exchange of nude photographs have become the norm throughout high schools across the country. Students discussing these matters among fellow students in such a way is another gateway for poor decision making, and one that could result in a criminal record instead of a scholarship.

However, young adults should talk about sex, but they should do so with teachers, licensed professionals, and parents so they can learn about the problems that can come from such activity at a young age. A survey was conducted by the Center for Disease Control which revealed across the United States 41 percent of high school students have engaged in sexual intercourse, 43 of students who engaged in sexual intercourse did so unprotected, and 21 percent of students stated they consumed alcohol or some type of drug before intercourse. Also included in the survey was that half of the nearly 20 million new cases of sexually transmitted diseases reported annually were among young adults between the ages of 15 to 24 and an estimated 250,000 babies were born to teenagers 15 to 19 years of age in 2014 alone.

These statistics are used to bring awareness to the importance of decision making when it involves issues related to sex; sexual activity, consent versus no consent, inappropriate behavior both verbally and electronically, and the added stressors to young adults who engage in such behavior.

At the end of the day we all want our students to be safe and to make good decisions. While high school is a trying time as a young adult, students should take the time to talk with family, or even a counselor, if any of these issues are affecting them.