Jun 29, 2009 8:33 pm US/Eastern
Shock Study: Many Teens Say They'll Die Before 35
Univ. Of Minnesota Study Polled 20,000 In Grades 7-12; 15 Percent See An Early Demise Thanks To Risky Lifestyle
WANTAGH, N.Y. (CBS) ―
Living fast and dying young -- a new study finds a significant number of teens believe they could die before their 35th birthday.
CBS 2 HD spent the day with teenagers in our area to determine why many think their lives could be cut so short.
Mike Sessa and Nick Simonelli on the beach Monday reacted to the surprising University of Minnesota study that says 15 percent of teens across America now believe they will die young.
"Honestly, I wake up every morning and I feel I don't know what's going to happen right now," Sessa said.
"Whatever age I live to as long as I have a good happy life, I will be happy in the end," Simonelli added.
Researchers found that among 20,000 teenagers studied, those who engaged in risky behavior thought they would die young -- and that those who thought they would die young, as in before age 35, took more risks.
"Smoking, STDs gets in everybody's head, can't help feeling pessimistic," one teen said.
Parents who have lost children to drugs learned that the most pessimistic teens are the most likely to overdose, have unprotected sex and attempt suicide.
"People call us on our hotline … if we're trying to assess that they are thinking about suicide is that feeling of hopelessness and loss," said Theresa Buhse of the Long Island Crisis Center.
Counselors at the Long Island Crisis Center and professors at Hofstra University said suffering loss is a hardship difficult to overcome. Minority teens especially exposed to violence and trauma are the most likely to see a "short" road ahead, turning fatalism into a self fulfilling prophecy. Marking the time to intervene:
"I think it's important for them to be able to talk about it so that they know that somebody else, A. cares and B. can intervene at that point," said Hofstra professor Merry McVey-Noble.
But not everyone is feeling a sense of gloom and doom.
"I just graduated high school feeling awesome," one teen said, adding that living a long time is high on the priority list.
The study discovered fatalistic kids were not more likely to die than others. And researchers report pessimism fades over time.
The 20,000 teenagers across America who participated in the study were in grades 7 to 12.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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