Facts & Figures about Adolescence

Adolescence can be a very difficult time in a child's life. It is a time of paradox and conflict and transition. Often, the need for self-discovery is challenged by a need for peer acceptance. One day an adolescent may seem like a mature adult; the next day, a child. Kids tend to develop at younger ages in today's fast-paced, media-influenced society. However, many adolescents often imitate grown up behaviors and characteristics without having the corresponding mental adeptness and maturity needed to make them a true "adult."

Adolescents often pull away from adults, wanting their privacy and space, during the very time that adult guidance is needed most. As adults, we tend to think of adolescents as teenagers, fully capable of handling the challenges that arise during the teen years. However, adolescence is that magical time when a young person can be a child one minute and a mature young adult the next. Our busy adult world often doesn't notice that adolescents need our guidance.

We adults admonish our young people, "plan for your future," or "Set goals!" but very little is done to show them how to go about doing so. The effects of not adequately guiding our adolescents from childhood to adulthood are troubling:

The numbers in Texas:

• Only two states have more high school dropouts than Texas¹
  
• Texas is third in the nation in pregnancies among teen girls ages 17 and younger;² and
  
• The presence of girls in Texas juvenile correctional facilities increased more than 130% between 1995 and 1998.3
  

Beyond the numbers:

• The majority of ninth graders surveyed at an Austin-area high school indicated that the biggest obstacle to success in high school is social and personal relationships;⁴
  
• Counselors working with inner-city teen mothers have noted that, because of a lack of strong life goals, girls do not feel that they are missing out on anything if they have a baby;⁵ and
  
• During the middle school years, after-school hours and summer vacations are periods when adolescents, of ten too young to work full-time, can turn to activities that can lead to trouble.

Morning Star Rising works to support girls during the transitions from elementary to middle school to high school, since this is the heart of adolescence. Not enough attention is focused on this crucial time of life.

Traditional societies all over the world have considered the preparation of their youth to be a major task of the community. To accomplish this, they have provided rites of passage guided by adults and designed to equip the adolescent with the knowledge and skills required for success in the adult environment.

Morning Star Rising provides a rite-of-passage program for adolescent girls, which helps them to make the transition from middle school to high school and to become healthy contributing adults.

Why Focus on Girls?
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