According to a new study there is a connection between teenagers who have a fatalistic outlook on life and behaving in a manner that makes it more likely that they will die early or be sick or unhappy rather than happy.

Earlier it was believed that teenagers who behaved in a risky manner did so as they believed they were invincible but the recent study reported that it was quite the contrary. Teenagers who were involved in drug use, fighting and unsafe sex were not only more likely to believe they would die young they in fact often did.

In the research by the University of Minnesota, published in the July Pediatrics, 20,745 teenagers in grades 7 to 12 were questioned about their chances of living to age 35. They were questioned three times between 1995 and 2002 and researchers found that 15 % of the teens predicted that their chance of living to the age of 35 was at best 50/50 or less. These teens were found to be more likely to be engaged in risky behavior in the subsequent interviews than the teens who had predicted that they would most certainly be alive when they were in their mid 30’s.

Iris Borowsky, MD, PhD, of the University of Minnesota, pediatrician and study researcher said, "The conventional wisdom has been that teens underestimate their risk, but there are also studies showing that they are no worse than adults at perceiving their vulnerability to risk and that they tend to overestimate their risk of dying."

The study found that minority teenagers were more likely to predict an early death, with 29 % of Native Americans, 26 % of blacks, and 21 % of Hispanics expecting to die young, as compared to 10 % of whites. Fatalism and poverty were also co-related and minorities and poor people were far more likely to have health problems than a white and well off person were.

Teens that lived with a single parent, or were on welfare, and living in an urban vs. rural environment were all found to have a higher belief among those questioned that they would die young. Teens who believed they would die early were found to be seven times more likely than those who did not to become HIV positive over the course of the trial.

"Our findings reinforce the importance of instilling a sense of hope and optimism in youth," Borowsky said. "Strong connections with parents, families, and schools as well as positive media messages, are likely important factors in developing an optimistic outlook for young people."

The recent study is one of the largest ever to examine teen perceptions about their risk of death and whether these perceptions persisted or changed over time. It is also among the largest to examine the relationship between perceived risk for early death and behaviors that could increase actual death risk.