ABSTRACT
Background Information Chile, located in the southwest of South America, has a population of about 16.5 million persons (Instituto Nacional de Estadísticas (INE), 2009). Economic development in recent decades has been characterized by high rates of growth in urban areas, where over 85% of the population lives. Lifeexpectancy rates have increased and fertility rates have decreased, thus changing the age distribution of the population. Chilean adolescents and emerging adults (15 to 29 years of age) represent approximately 25% of the country’s population (4,082,396) (INE, 2009).
