Biracial Youth Essay

In fact, African Americans are believed to have, albeit an extremely basic, awareness of racial discrimination as early as in the third grade (Rowley, Burchinal, Roberts, & Zeizel, 2008). It appears that this developmental age is the most vulnerable time for the children to learn about racism, as the third grade group scored higher on expecting racial discrimination in their life than that of the fifth grade group. However, an interesting find was that the children believed that having more African American friends put them at a higher risk of facing discrimination. (Rowley, et al. 2008) This can cause a child to feel the need to limit the amount of African American friends they have while simultaneously preferring to make friends of other races.

Once again this gives rise to the question that do our dreams affect reality or not? Weak connection bonds and isolation factors are the reason for disturbed and intense dreams that could also be trauma and problems for the person to attach with

Children that exhibit such behaviours are most likely to become teenagers who are severely affected by problems associated with aggression, substance abuse, and mental health issues. In their adulthood, the situation

Overall, significant evidence suggests a correlation between childhood sexual abuse and mental health. Findings support the notion that men and women who experienced abuse as children are at higher risk for psychological impairments such as lower self esteem and depression. Children of abused individuals are at an elevated risk of developing a psychological disorder by internalizing their parents problems and engaging in anti-social behaviors. Esteves et al. research adds to the growing body of literature highlighting the integration of parental history, mood disorders and the biological significance of child health and development (Esteves et al.,

Weinberg et al (1999) stated that "It was

The higher risk may be the result of a lack of peer support, the harassment, and mental health conditions leading to a higher rate of substance abuse issues. “For LGBTQI people aged 10-24, suicide is one of the leading causes of death. LGBT youth are 4 times more likely to attempt suicide. Questioning youth are 3 times more likely attempt suicide” (Inside/Out Youth Services,

In conclusion, male delinquents are more likely to have traumatic brain injury. Hispanic white male are more likely to have traumatic brain injury than other ethnic backgrounds. Juvenile offenders with traumatic injury also are substance abusers and they also have psychological disorders. Offenders also have high levels of aggression and low levels of self-control.

Numerous studies have shown that domestic violence has a huge impact on children and teenagers and can lead to internal and external behavioral problems. These can include aggression, anxiety and depression. When children are exposed to violence or abuse, it affects them tremendously when they become teenagers. Adolescence is a time when a person is figuring out who they are and their self-esteem will develop either confidently or not so confidently. When abuse has been in the picture, it is very difficult for an adolescence to develop to their full potential and delinquency can occur.

In the juvenile system, black children are up to 18 times as likely to be sentenced as adults than white children, and African American youth that is accused of felonies are inclined to be viewed as more at fault for their crimes than are white youth. Research that was constructed by the National Council on Crime and Delinquency and the Center for Children’s Law and Policy suggested that minority youth are presented with harsher treatment than their white peers through almost every stage of the juvenile justice process. The process is already the punishment, but being a minority can make it worse. Minority juveniles are sentenced for longer periods and are less likely to receive alternative sentences or probation compared to white juveniles (Armour & Hammond, 2009,

Compare with girls, boys tend to be more rebellious and undisciplined. According to research: boys have higher rate of disciplinary problems and drug abuse than girls; boys drop out from schools more often than girls and boys attending and completing college education less than girls (Guarsco, page 5). Some researchers state that coed education model biases girls’ needs and actually harmed boys.(Guarsco, page 5). Boys and girls develop and learn in different ways, “sometimes [boys] find little relevancy in the curriculum, they become less motivated to learn the subject matter” (Ogden, page 36 ). Dr. Bruce Perry, a Houston neurologist, who advocates for trouble kids believes that “[in] the last two decades, the education system has become obsessed with a quantifiable and narrowly defined kind of academic success, and that myopic view is harming boys.

Age and gender are both individual characteristic that are considered strong risk factors. Young males are typically known to be at greater risk of substance use (name, date). That fact, however, may be changing as recent studies conducted show that girls are beginning to catch up and are becoming more likely to binge drink and use illicit drugs (name, date). Gender not only affects the risk of substance use but also how likely individuals are to receive help afterwards. Females are less likely to seek treatment than men and several factors may be contributing to this phenomenon, including stigma – as substance abuse problems are more socially acceptable by males – and family obligations (name, date).

Although Interracial dating isn’t actually a health problem, but some can occur when judgmental people and unacceptance happens. Interracial dating is a term that describes people who date different racial or ethnic group. Interracial dating/marriage was legalized in 1967. Interracial dating has been caused in many ways. One is to grow in social status.

In the film, Our Family Wedding (Rick Famuwiya, 2010), which first public appearance in cinemas in 2010, focus in an interracial couple formed by Marcus an African American man and Lucia a Mexican American woman and the obstacles that come from being in an interracial relationship. In today’s society it is more common to see interracial couples than in the past but it does not mean families are okay with it. One can think the stereotypes and discrimination faced by interracial couples are a thing of the past. But the film shows it is not true even in this time interracial couples experienced discrimination, obstacles, and a hard time of acceptance especially from their families. Rick Famuwiya’s Our Family Weeding (2010) uses different scenes through the movie focusing on the variety of issues face interracial couples.

Being a minority student on a college campus can be difficult. Both articles highlighted the challenges that minority college students face as they engage the college environment. According to Own, Lacy, Rawls and Holbert (2010), African American students have been found to be less academically prepared for the rigor of college courses and have limited information about the college process in general. Latino and Latina students are in the same boat. Lack of preparation is often due to lack of financial resources.