It is an old cliche now that the teenage years are the most trying ones for
             both the teenager and the parents. The transition from childhood to
             adulthood is fraught with physical, emotional, mental and psychological
             changes. Teenage problems are now compounded by the challenges facing
             society today. The life experiences encountered between the ages of 12 and
             20, burgeoning emotional and sexual feelings; physiological development of
             secondary sexual characteristics; entry into the order of society through
             individual and group affiliations, leave a lasting impression. Some of the
             difficulties facing teenagers have to do with drugs, (its availability and
             effects on development), threat and high incidence of HIV and AIDS,
             violence and gang-related violence and depression. These have deep effects
             on the physical, emotional and cognitive development of teenagers.
             Although statistics show that fewer teenagers are smoking marijuana and
             that their attitudes and perceptions are more positive, the use of the drug
             ecstasy and the "club drugs" associated with rave parties is still too high
             amongst teenagers. Some studies report 5 -12 % of 8th -12th graders using
             ecstasy. Adults are faced with an additional problem of curbing the
             availability of these drugs that are now easily obtained even on the
             The drug and alcohol abuse is sometimes connected to risky sexual behaviors
             in teenagers. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports that by
             12th grade approximately 75% of the students have had sexual intercourse,
             with less than half using condoms. The Kaiser Family Foundation states that
             approximately 25% of all people living with HIV became infected when they
             were in their teens, and that the number of adolescents with AIDS in the
             United States has increased more than seven fold in the past decade.
             Teenagers generally expressed greater concern about becoming infected than
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