Question

How do social and environmental factors affect teens and young adults making healthy or unhealthy decisions? How influential is the family environment?

What motivates teens to form groups and how do negative behaviors increase when teens are involved in small or large gangs?

What specific issues does the U.S. minority population face in terms of health issues, lack of healthcare, and risky behaviors?

What specific type of community program would you develop if you were in charge of improving options for teens and young adults? What community members would you seek to speak with about your program proposal and how important is it to include influential community members who can help support legislation, space, or financial services to help a community program succeed?

How will education reduce risk taking behaviors? What type of follow up and evaluation will you do to ensure a successful program?

Answer 1

(a) social factors:-
           -Social media and other influences such as television,entertainers, friends and schools can play huge parts in decisions young adults make when it comes to healthy and unhealthy lifestyles.
           -If a television star drinks,the viewers may find themselves subconsciously to drink.
          
Environmental factors :-
         -If a person lives in a lower income area they are less likely to eat healthy due to the food options in the area compared to that of those who live in higher income neighborhood.

Family influences :- it can play a major role in healthy and unhealthy choices.
Example:- if a mother/father smokes, the young adult will begin smoking at an early age.

(b) One thing that may motivate teens to form groups is to maintain a sense of acceptance. “
     Some adolescents are motivated to join a gang for a sense of connection .
     Others are motivated by peer pressure, a need to protect themselves and their family, because a family member also is in a gang to make money.
Negative behaviors increase when peer pressure becomes involved.

(c) African Americans deal with health issues such as diabetes, heart disease and Sickle Cell Anemia.
-In the case of healthcare, some issues with minorities result from there being language barriers, or the jobs that are being obtained do not offer insurance to obtain adequate healthcare.

(d) The program we would develop would provide alternatives for young adults to be able to be themselves and hang out as an alternative to being out on the street and being in gangs.        -The program would have sports available to teach the participants team work, working well with others and leadership skills.
-There would also be opportunities to provide these youth with the necessary skills needed to function well in society and to be strong leaders.
- It would be important to include influential members who can help to build up and fund the program.

(e) Appropriate education would reduce risk taking behaviors because it will give the students more opportunities to escape the sense of low self-worth and to give them opportunities for college life and a career that truly makes them happy.