20100420 sabc
Young people continue to engage in risky behaviour, according to research conducted by the Medical Research Council of South Africa (MRCSA). The survey was conducted among 10 000 learners between Grades eight and eleven from across the country.
Government says the results will be used for policy intervention targeting young people.
The research indicates that around 38% of young people have had sex, 15% carry weapons, 38% have driven under the influence of alcohol and 21% of them have attempted suicide in the past.
But there are interventions that can be made to reduce the effect of this risky behaviour.
According to the MRCSA’s professor Priscilla Reddy, the government needs to develop human capacity by training young people to become experts in health education and health promotion. "Those young people will in turn work with those communities to develop tailored specific and comprehensive interventions.”
The National Youth Development Agency says it will align their programme with this newly found research.
This survey shows a slight improvement from the first survey conducted in 2002. The survey is to be repeated every three years to check if there are changes in the patterns of behaviour.
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