Social EnvironmentSocial Environment

William Allan Kritsonis, PhDWilliam Allan Kritsonis, PhD

Social Environment: Family

• Majority were raised by both parents

• Mothers more than fathers raised the

adolescents

83.2

1.2

5.9

0.8

2.5

6.4 pa & mapa onlyma onlypa+otherma+otherother

Social Environment: Family

Living away from home• 45% have experienced living away from home

• 16.3% ever-lived in a dorm or boarding house

Reasons for living away from home

Many young people live away from their families

34.8

36.4

21.1

1.5

0 10 20 30 40

to marryto join relativesto studyto work

Social Environment

Parental/Family relationship

Siblings

• 77% get along with all siblings

• 16% get along but not with all siblings

Parents

• 72% get along well with father

• 76.5% get along well with mother

Significant % have problems relating with family members

Social Environment:Family

Parental/Family relationship

Parents get along well

• 72% get along well

• 12.5% don’t get along well

Rating of parents: warm & affectionate

• 70% of fathers scored high

• 80% mothers scored high

Social Environment

Parental/Family relationship

Discuss SEX at home

• 15.6% sex was discussed at home while

adolescent was growing up

• 6.2% discussed with mother

• 3.5% discussed with father

• 4.6% discussed with sister

• 3.5% discussed with brother

Home is not a place where SEX can be discussed

Social Environment: School

68% go to public school

• Feelings about school

• 19.6% would rather not go to sch. many times

• 5.6% think that school is a waste of time

• 87.2% try hard to do good in school

• % think someone at school can help them with sex-related problems

Social Environment: Media

More than half watched x-rated movies/videos : 55%

Where do they usually watch x-rated movies/videos?

23.8

63.8

7.1

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

Own home Friends'/Relatives'home

Movie house More than a third had read pornographic materials: 38.4%

Social Environment: Friends

Who adolescents approach when they have problems? Friends are important support system

• Academic problems

• 37.4% teachers

• 44% peers/classmates

• 4.8% none

• Love/relationship problems

• 62.6% friends

• 15.5% self

• 2.1% teachers

• 1.4% counselor

• Family problems

• 64.5% friends

• 11.8% none

• 6.4% teacher

• 2.5% counselor

Social Environment: Friends

B a r k a d a• 97.5% ever had barkada

• 84.6% parents know about barkada

• 76.6% parents aware of barkada activities

• 19.3% barkada with R involved in violent incident

Activities of barkada: %

25

12.38

11.37.4

05

1015202530

Social Environment: Friends

Fraternity/Sorority• 6.2% was ever a member

• 52% of those in frats have been involved in violent

activities

Activities of fraternity: %

20

13.711.8

3.9

9.8

0

5

10

15

20

25

Comm'ywork

Hazing Meeting None Sch act

Social Environment: Friends

Friends having sex

• 39.5% know of unmarried friends who

are having sex

• 23.3% know of unmarried female

friends who have gotten

pregnant

Social Environment : Church/Religion

• 84.6% are Catholics

• 3.4% are Born Again

• 2.9% are INK

Religiosity

• 44% attend at least once a week

• 8.2% have changed religion • 60% of those who changed came from

Catholic religion

Consequences of risk behaviors

• Other risk behaviors

• Accidental, unwanted and unsafe pregnancies

• Maternal mortality rate among pregnant adolescents is 2-4 times higher than for women over age 20.

• Infant mortality rate is 30% higher for infants born to mothers ages 15-19 than for those women 20 years or older.

Consequences of risk behaviors

Young Filipino women are reproductively-challenged

• 162,000 or 10% of all births occur to teenage mothers (15-19)

• at age 18, 10% are already mothers

• at age 20, 25% are mothers

• at age 24, 50% are mothers, and 1/3 of Filipino young women have 2-3 children already

• Young pregnant women are prone to pregnancy complications

Consequences of risk behaviors

• Abortion

• 5% of ever-pregnant adolescent had at least one abortion experience.

Reasons why adolescents engage in risk behaviors

• Adolescents are becoming less & less connected with their families and religion• Families are showing signs of being less helpful to their adolescents• Schools & homes provide venues for sex encounters• Adolescents show signs of confusion • They are doing more experimentation with their peers• Pornograpic media is taking a larger space in their time and attention

Reasons why adolescents engage in risk behaviors

• Adolescents now have more liberal attitudes on sex and sex-

related matters.

Summary

Ill-consequences of risk behaviors are already apparent

• Many are not even aware of the consequences or of the risks

• They are ill-prepared for the consequences

‘Better informed, better equipped’

Summary

There are signs of breaking down of adolescent –protective connections

• Family• School• Church

At the same time, • Closeness to peers• ‘Bad’ media taking more significance

‘transforming risk factors to protective factors, HOW?’

• In view of the foregoing, what kinds of actions are needed to support healthier adolescent development?• Who should be joining the efforts?

• What kinds of strategies are effective?

How can we help the adolescents?

• Level with them, Be honest

• Have clear reasonable limits

• Listen actively to them

• Share plans & schedules

• Respect their privacy and space

• Say things respectfully & with warmth

• Encourage them to discover creative channels of expression

• Encourage them to develop their own interests & discover sources of fulfillment

• Trust them & be happy