"No Future" for Some Teens

Published: July 24, 2009, 4 a.m.

State and national surveys have measured teen risk behavior, but few look at the attitudes behind those behaviors. Conventional wisdom says teenagers are impulsive and take risks because they're not mature enough to realize the consequences. But a recent article suggests some teenagers engage in risky behavior like unsafe sex and substance abuse because they don't think they have a future. Angela Hatton has this story about what a fatalistic attitude means for Kentucky teen health.