ABSTRACT
It is imperative that adolescents acquire healthy behaviours if they are to reduce their risks of illness. To date, western nations have made significant advances in their control of disease and infection. Some diseases such as smallpox, common a generation ago, have been almost entirely eradicated. Technically, great advances have been made with respect to organ transplantations, genetic engineering, and so forth. Yet it is at the psychosocial level that we remain particularly vulnerable to disease. This would appear to be even more apparent among adolescents, who are susceptible to peer and media influences which may encourage them to experiment with different and sometimes risky behaviours.
