ABSTRACT
Adolescents continue to be portrayed as a homogeneous and healthy group (Irwin, 1990a). They represent a segment of the population having the least contact with the health care system that is often interpreted as absence of need (National Center for Health Statistics [NCHS], 1983, 1984, 1990a). Indeed, most adolescents experience no major health disorders or debilitating conditions as reflected in health status indicators most commonly used for adults and children (Irwin, 1987; Newacheck, 1989). These health status indicators are measures that utilize quantifiable mortality and morbidity outcomes that are best reflected in mortality rates, hospital discharge rates from acute care facilities, conditions cited in visits to office-based physician practices, and prevalence of specific infectious diseases .or disabling conditions (Gans, Blyth, Elster, Gaveras, 1990; Irwin, Brindis, Brodt, Bennett, & Rodriguez, 1991; Irwin & Vaughan, 1988). Others (including a popular assumption in the lay press) argue that the health problems experienced by adolescents result from their own risk -taking behaviors that often begin with adolescents' perceptions of invulnerability.
