Prevention of adolescent risk behavior is a hot topic in our society currently. There are many studies and surveys that help scientists and theorists explain why adolescents take the risks that they do. Adolescents have always been known to behave in a way that could be seen as risky by the rest of society and many people have made it their mission to come up with different ways of prevention.
Most adolescents in today’s society are faced with a whole new set of risks and dangers compared to previous generations. It can almost be said that there is no safe place for teenagers these days between all of the new technology and society as a whole. There is a very broad range of dangers and risks that adolescents can engage in and most of the time, if an adolescent engages in one then he or she will engage in other ones as well. According to the text book, the five main adolescent risk behaviors are “antisocial behavior, cigarette smoking, drug misuse, alcohol misuse, and sexual behavior that risk pregnancy or disease”.
I believe that antisocial behavior in adolescents is one of the largest problems in our society for teenagers. Having antisocial behavior covers a very large spectrum of actions and feelings. The two main parts of antisocial behavior would be aggressive and criminal acts. These behaviors are very much based on a variety of factors. A few of these factors would be race, economic status, gender, and age. Research from the Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System helps attribute to this idea that different environmental factors contribute to how likely an adolescent is to engage in these behaviors.
According to Youth Risk Behavior Surveillance System taken in 2011, “16.2% of students had been electronically bullied, in...
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... part of growing up and going through puberty that it is hard to deter adolescents from having intercourse. Then there is the effect that the media has on the idea of being sexually active. With television shows like “16 and Pregnant”, it is hard to make adolescents see that the risks are very high.
With all of the risky behaviors that adolescents engage in, it affects our society and communities as a whole. Every risk that an adolescent takes affects more than just them. Most likely it will contribute a negative effect on the community. If society does not continue to come up with modes of prevention and education, it will seem as though these risks and behaviors are condoned and turned into social norms. Adolescents in this day and age have a lot going against them and it takes a lot more to overcome the temptations that come with being a part of this generation.
The peak in risky behavior occurs at about age 17. The rates of risky behavior continue to rise, with a significant increase occurring in the past two decades. Risky behavior in adolescence can have both positive and negative effects. Positive effects risky behavior has during adolescence are individuation, self-determination, and it can create peer acceptance. The tendency to partake in risky behavior during adolescence can be contributed to rapid development of the emotional brain while the cortical areas continue to develop slowly, the need for sensation seeking, beliefs of invulnerability, and deviant behavior demonstrated by
“Youth and Tobacco Use.” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. N.p., 14 Feb. 2014. Web. 24 Feb. 2014. .
Social media is having negative effects on teenagers. Since teens can feel safe behind a screen they are a lot more comfortable doing things that they should be more cautious to doing. First example of this is sexual encounters online aka “sexting”. Sexting is the act of sending sexually explicit messages or photos over a cell phone or the Internet. By not being face to face it makes it easy to send explicit pictures to another person, and engaging in sexual conversation. Peer pressure plays a big role in these behaviors to gain status in the social
The reality that must be faced is that teenagers will continue to be sexually active notwithstanding any risk or consequences. Whether it is because they’re uninformed, “in love,” hormonal, bored, or looking for approval
This sort of phenomenon makes major headlines regularly in recent times and effects a clear majority of today’s youth. State and local lawmakers have taken steps to prevent this type of bullying by making illegal under several criminal law codes. Michele Hamm, a researcher in pediatrics explained, “There were consistent associations between exposure to cyberbullying and increased likelihood of depression.” Cyberbullying became widespread among students with the rapid growth in use of cellular devices and the Internet. With this kind of technology bullies have the ability to send harmful messages to their recipients at any given time. This type of bullying is the hardest to control because it involves students but often happens off school grounds. However, because the evidence is material, students and parents could bring this evidence to the school and local police departments if a situation were to happen. Parents should be mindful of their child’s use of the internet and electronic messaging, cyberbullying usually takes place in a medium in which adults are seldom present (Mason, 2008). Also, instead of sending direct messages to other students, bullies use platforms such as social media and anonymous blogs to post harmful things for others to see. Educators must understand the significance of social media use to their students, especially
In recent years, smoking has started to take over the lives of many teenagers. The number of teenagers smoking has increased dramatically in the last several years. This is a major problem because smoking can lead to sickness and major diseases that can lead to death. Teens tend to participate in this while out of the presence of an adult figure. Although teens should not be smoking in the first place, an adult figure should be around to help insure that their children are doing the right things, even when they are behind sealed doors with their peers. Teenagers as they mature become a model for younger children and when they set the example of smoking can ruin their respectable image to the children that look up to them.
Disturbing Behavior is about 53 things that teens do to occupy their time. Teens do a lot of things from abortions, jelly bracelets/SNAP, oral sex, over-the counter, drugs to believing in different religious cults. Most of these are trends that teenagers do in order to keep themselves up with society. Different factors play a role in teenager’s trends such as psychological and social factors. All of these factors have an impact on teen’s disturbing behavior. Finally, sometimes the family has lifestyles that influence a lot of peers, their experiences and knowledge.
A teenager is likely to experiment with drugs and alcohol, especially during high school. Some teenagers try it and do not like it, others love it. This love for drugs and alcohol becomes a regular activity, and then a teen may become dependent on the drug or drink, and can progress to addiction. These stages of substance abuse affect one's relationships, health and ambitions.
Fennessy, Donna. "The Secret Life Of Teens." Prevention 60.4 (2008): 181-183. Canadian Reference Centre. Web. 14 Apr. 2014.
transcends into adulthood (Casey, 2008). During adolescence there are examinable changes in various areas of life. These changes occur physically as the adolescent goes through puberty, as well as psychological changes where high emotional reactivity emerges, and social development is at its height (Casey, 2008). Adolescents are more likely than adults or children to engage in risky behaviour that can subsequently lead to death or illness by drunk driving, carrying weapons, using illegal drugs, and engaging in unprotected sex, which in turn can lead to STD’s and teenage pregnancies (Eaton, 2006). The prior is proof that adolescents do engage in risky behaviour. Through this essay we will explore the various theories of why risky behaviour is at its height during adolescence.
Wong-Lo, Mickie. and Bullock, Lyndal M. “Digital Aggression: Cyberworld Meets School Bullies.” Preventing School Failure: Alternative Education for Children and Youth 55.2 (2011): 64-70. Print.
Dryfoos, J. G. (1990). Adolescents at risk: Prevalence and prevention. New York: Oxford University Press.
Another way to help teens avert from using alcohol is to make sure that teens are educated in the dangers and consequences of t...
Nowadays there are so many news regarding social problem involving youngster. In fact it has become a norm to read articles about teenagers’ issue. We should realize that problem involving young generations is actually a huge problem to the nation as they will become our leader. Early prevention is better than cure, thus we need to identify the reason why this problem is happening and what are the consequences from this teenager social problem.
Discussing the consequences of dangerous risk taking is one such example that is effective. For example, the implications of dangerous driving could be a number of things, crippling injuries that could take a toll on them, there family and friends, hitting another civilian or even death. Another effective strategy is to encourage a teen to pursue healthy risk taking activities such as sport, music or any creative outlet (Chris Hudson, 2015). Setting a good example as an adult to a teenager is also imperative as many teens typically mimic the risk taking patterns that there parents display (Chris Hudson,