Global Trends in Adolescent Health

Increasingly, morbidity and mortality trends for young people in developing nations are paralleling those in the industrialized world. As infectious causes of mortality diminish, unintentional injuries, suicide, homicide, war, and maternal mortality represent the primary causes of death in the second decade of life for most nations where data are maintained. As developing nations increasingly place priority on the education of their youth, early marriage and precocious child rearing are discouraged, and other problems, such as out-of-wedlock childbirth and illicit abortions, emerge. Problems such as substance abuse and suicide arise with the urban migration, increased unemployment, and disruption of traditional social structures that are experienced as developing countries industrialize.