DR. WALLACE: I'm 18 and will complete my junior year in a few months. I have a miserable home life. Both of my parents drink a lot, and my father physically abuses my mother on a regular basis. I should be graduating this year, but I had to stay out of school for a year when I was 10 because of an illness.

I had planned to move to Denver and live with a friend and his family and complete my senior year there, but when I checked into doing this, I was told by a Denver school official that I couldn't attend school there because my parents didn't live in Denver.

Is there anything I can do to get the official to change his mind? Even if they won't, I'm moving to Denver, but I'd really like to be able to finish my high school education there. — Ryan, Houston, Tex.

RYAN: The information you received from the Denver school administrator was in error. Since you are 18, you can establish residency in Denver without having your parents live there. Contact the Denver School District again and send along a copy of your letter to me with my response.

If for any reason that doesn't bring the desired results, seek the services of a member of Denver Legal Aid Services. The public schools are there to educate all young people, not to put up roadblocks for a teen seeking an education.

END THIS RELATIONSHIP NOW

DR. WALLACE: I met Dave at my best friend's birthday party and we hit it off really well. We started dating on a regular basis and have now been in a steady relationship for about three months.

Not long after we started dating, he started giving me suggestions like "You should let your hair grow longer, it would make you look more feminine," and "That purple nail polish makes you look cheap — don't wear it any more."

He's also been telling me what to eat so I can "lose a few pounds" to look better in my clothes, and he also tries to tell me what clothes to wear. This is starting to bother me, and my sister says I should definitely dump him because he's a "real toad." I still like going out with him, but my sister says she knows you'll tell me to dump him. What is your advice? — Nameless, Moncton, N.B., Canada.

NAMELESS: Sis has given you the correct advice on this one! This guy has a possessive personality and the more he gets to know you, the more possessive he becomes. His main interest is in being able to control you. My advice is to end this relationship, the sooner, the better. If you don't, eventually he'll make your life miserable.

THE U.S. HAS HIGHEST TEEN PREGNANCY RATE

DR. WALLACE: We seem to have an abundance of teenage pregnancies. How do we compare with other nations in this regard? — Brittany, Batavia, Ill.

BRITTANY: The United States has the highest teen pregnancy rate in the Western industrialized world. It's not that American teens are more immoral, it's more likely they are less informed. American parents and American schools, on the whole, do not satisfactorily teach sex education.

More than 1 million teenage American girls become pregnant every year and one-fifth of these pregnancies occur within six months after their first sexual encounter.

According to the Coalition Concerned with Adolescent Pregnancy, one-third of America's present 14-year-old girls will become pregnant before age 20.

Dr. Robert Wallace welcomes questions from readers. Although he is unable to reply to all of them individually, he will answer as many as possible in this column. E-mail him at rwallace@galesburg.net. To find out more about Dr. Robert Wallace and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.