ABSTRACT
This chapter provides current factual information about potentially self-destructive behaviors: suicide, drug use, and running away, with regard to their incidence and predisposing factors among adolescents, with particular attention to young women. With respect to suicide, while the rate of completed suicide tor young women is less than that of young men, both sexes are clearly at risk, especially in the later teen years. Female adolescents use drugs less heavily and less frequently than males, but the general pattern of use are similar. More emphasis is being placed on the development of support groups among both parents and teens aimed at reducing use, along with continued use of clinic treatment for drug dependency. Running away occurs with nearly equal frequency among females and males, incest is more likely a problem for females. Disturbed family relationships coupled with poor school performance, and time spent with anti-social peers who themselves run, markedly increases the likelihood of an adolescents running away from home.
