Introduction
Healthy People program is responsible for promoting health and prevention of diseases and focuses on the United States inhabitants. Healthy People has an interest in all age groups starting with infants and finishing with older people. One of the target groups of this program is young people (from 18 to 25 years) and adolescents (from 10 to 17 years) (“Adolescent Health,” 2020). Healthy People organization’s objective for these target groups is to provide a healthy environment, protect, and prevent the emergence of various physical and mental diseases. The organization also strives to expand the number of young people who are involved in extra activities. Moreover, the young generation constitutes almost a quarter of all population of the United States (“Adolescent Health,” 2020); thus, the program aims to protect young people and adolescents.
Objective: AH-2 Increase the proportion of adolescents who participate in extracurricular and/or out-of-school activities.
According to multiple studies on the impact of extracurricular activities, out-of-school practices positively influence the health of adolescents. These activities cause a stronger immunity system for school and university students, and extracurricular activism leads to overall health improvement (Martinez et al., 2016). In addition, the Healthy People community is concerned with teenage suicides and various mental issues (“Adolescent Health,” 2020). It is proven that even minimal activity can have a significant impact on the mental health of adolescents. Moreover, it becomes apparent that children who spend their spare time communicating with other pupils and engaged in different activities are less likely to suffer from psychological diseases.
More Important/More Changeable
A safe environment implies protection from various destructive factors. This issue is crucial for adolescents because young people are more likely to be impacted by other people’s negative influence and behavior. Furthermore, a safe environment is about preventing risk factors such as homicides, suicides, teenage sexual abuse and pregnancy, various infections transmitted through sexual relations, and drug usage. There are multiple ways to secure adolescents from a negative influence, thus, this aspect is more likely to change. For instance, Positive Youth Development programs are concerned with the promotion of positive outcomes for young people (“Adolescent Health,” 2020). In addition, it strives to create a healthy community of adolescents and engage people in interaction with each other.
Physical and mental illness prevention is a consequence of a safe environment. It is clear that when the child is given proper support, they will feel more protected. Unfortunately, many crimes and various offenses happen because of insufficient timely support. Thus, schools and colleges should implement a proper staff of psychologists and mental health medicians who can devote enough time to pupils. Moreover, a school should provide its pupils with the possibility of out-of-class pastime. Additionally, it was proved that extracurricular activities could improve mental health and prevent possible offenses (Martinez et al., 2016).
More Important/Less Changeable
One more important aspect of the development of each child is relations with his or her parents. Adolescents who have trustful relationships and can appeal to parents are more likely to be healthy and prosperous in the future (“Adolescent Health,” 2020). However, it is apparent that each person cannot have perfect relationships with parents; that is why this aspect is less changeable. Various positive or negative experiences influence the mental and physical health of a child as well. Children who participate in extracurricular activism are more likely to find new friends and make up trustful friendships within different communities (Martinez et al., 2016).
More Changeable/Less Important
Healthy People program claims that the higher are grades at school, the more successful the student will be in his or her future life (“Adolescent Health,” 2020). Partially, it is possible to agree with this statement. It is clear that adolescents who have high marks are associated with success (“Adolescent Health,” 2020). However, the graduation process is a highly subjective matter, and this is why it should be considered less important. For example, a student can be perfect at literature but fail chemistry, and it does not mean that the person is bad. In addition, sometimes graduation depends on the relationships that the student and the teacher established between each other.
Less Changeable/Less Important
Nowadays, the world becomes more aware of tolerance. Age, race, and gender stop to matter gradually, and this makes sense for adolescents. Such programs as Positive Youth Development are not concerned with these biological features, therefore all young people are welcomed. Concerning such aspects as money and financial support, it seems evident that parents’ financial abilities open multiple possibilities for their child (for instance, a decent school, a car, a house). However, numerous schools often implement various extra activities for free. It allows children to interact with their friends after classes. Moreover, what is important here is that children need communication with other pupils to exchange their experiences and thoughts.
References
Adolescent Health | Healthy People 2020. Healthypeople.gov. Web.
Martinez, A., Coker, C., McMahon, S. D., Cohen, J., & Thapa, A. (2016). Involvement in extracurricular activities: Identifying differences in perceptions of school climate. The Educational and Developmental Psychologist, 33(1), 70–84. Web.