Risky Habits

A substantial portion of adolescent deaths come from unintentional injuries (vehicle crashes, bicycle accidents, etc.). However, surveys of high school students find that boys are more likely to: rarely or never wear a seatbelt; rarely or never wear a bicycle helmet; and rarely or never wear a motorcycle helmet.

More young males report having driven after drinking alcohol than females.
Boys are more than three times as likely to carry a weapon (including carrying one to school) than girls.
Boys are approximately ten times as likely to report carrying a gun then girls.
Boys are nearly twice as likely to be in a physical fight as girls (including fights on school property), and are about twice as likely to report having been injured in a fight.
Boys are more likely to have been threatened or injured with a weapon on school property than girls.
Use of tobacco products (including cigarettes, cigars, and smokeless tobacco) is higher among adolescent males than females.
Alcohol use (especially episodic heavy drinking) is generally higher among adolescent males than among females.
Use of illegal drugs (including marijuana, cocaine, hallucinogens, heroin, illegal steroids, and ecstasy) is generally higher among adolescent males than females.
Boys are often initiated into risky behaviors at an early age: more boys than girls report their first experiences with sex, cigarettes, alcohol, and marijuana as occurring before age thirteen.
Adolescent boys are more likely to have had four or more sexual partners than girls, and are less likely to have been tested for HIV.
Boys are more likely than girls to be the victims of serious violent crime (including aggravated assault, robbery, and homicide).