Facts About Teen Girls

• 30% of adolescent girls have thoughts about SUICIDE  

• Girls are 2 times more likely than boys to ATTEMPT SUICIDE

• 1 million girls under the age of 18 GET PREGNANT every year

• 1 in 5 girls between the ages of 12 and 17 DRINK ALCOHOL and SMOKE CIGARRETTES  

• In one study, from 30 to 50% high school girls reported having already experienced teen DATING VIOLENCE

But there is good news!

 Statistics and Research 

Overall, the study’s results suggest that mentoring programs can be beneficial for youth with a broad range of backgrounds and characteristics. Tailoring the training and support that is available to the person based on the specific risks youth face has the potential to produce even stronger benefits.

• In addition to benefits in specific domains, mentored youth also experienced gains in a greater number of outcomes than youth in the comparison group.

• Findings also suggested gains in social acceptance, academic attitudes and grades.

• The strongest program benefit, and most consistent across risk groups, was a reduction in depressive symptoms — a particularly noteworthy finding given that almost one in four youth reported worrisome levels of these symptoms at baseline.

The 2013 study “The Role of Risk: Mentoring Experiences and Outcomes for Youth with Varying Risk Profiles,” examined mentoring program relationships, experiences and benefits for higher-risk youth, and among the findings determined:

Research confirms what we know anecdotally or intuitively —
that mentoring works!