Ever wondering why your teen is a wild, risk-taking, party animal? Well, it probably has a lot to do with his or her brain. During the teen years of life, their brain is still being shaped and is not yet fully developed. Teens are faced with some of the most risky situations and many can’t help their risky behavior. Getting drunk, taking drugs, having sex, are all too common of risky behaviors that teenagers engage in! Below are some collected teenage facts that will help you understand why teenage years are so risky.

Some quick teenage facts:

  • Car accidents — Males and females between age 16 - 20 are at least twice as likely to be in car accidents that drivers between the ages of 20 - 50. A quick fact check shows that car accidents are the leading cause of death in the range of 15 to 20 year olds. Roughly 30 % of all younger drivers that were killed had been drinking alcohol prior to the accident.
  • Sexually Transmitted Diseases — More than 50 % of all new HIV cases occur below 25 years of age. This makes AIDS the 7th leading cause of death in the 13 to 24 year old range. Every hour, about 2 teens contract HIV. Three million young people are diagnosed with STD’s every year.
  • Alcoholism – Slightly less than half (40 %) of all adult alcoholics have reported that their first drinking problems occurred in their teenage years of life.
  • Gambling – There is evidence of pathological gambling among 1 in 10 teenagers.

Risk-taking may be a natural part of the teenage brain

Many behaviors that are adopted during the teenage years will affect health as an adult. Risky activities like getting drunk, trying drugs, and gambling, may have a severe impact on their life as an adult. Stopping risky behavior before it happens is still a matter of choice by teens and is critical to helping them develop a healthy, powerful brain. Research shows that much of the risk-taking done by teens, was probably hardwired into their brains.

MRI’s have shown that the brain does some major reorganization of structure from the teenage years into the adult years. These changes could account for the risk-taking, impulsiveness, and attention seeking that affect teenagers. The major problem is the fact that teens brains are “unfinished” and not yet done developing. There is so much restructuring and remodeling going on that teenagers are unable to “grow-up” and think like adults.

Recent studies have shown that teens usually focus on the benefits and undermine the risks involved when making decisions. After they carefully consider the risks and benefits of certain situations, the teenage brain only focuses on the pleasurable results and doesn’t really care about the harm that their decision could cause to themselves or others.

Teens actually overestimate risks?

For many years people have made the stereotypes: teens are bad drivers, have unprotected sex, binge drink, and gamble. These stereotypes were made because the public and health professionals agree that teenagers think that they’re “invincible” to all harm. Many adults think that teens completely underestimate their risks or they wouldn’t be taking such bold actions. The funny thing is, studies have shown that teens are more likely to consider themselves “vulnerable” and actually “overestimate” rather than completely dismiss their risks. Another fact to note is that adults actually consider themselves more invulnerable to risks when compared to teens. So are teens really the ones that actually have poorer judgment in risky situations? No.

Then why do teens even take risks?

Studies have shown that when teens actually do decide to engage in a risky behavior, it’s not due to the possible dangerous consequences; it’s because they think that the benefits of their actions outweigh the risks! A 2002 study by Julie Goldberg at the University of Chicago showed that teens thought that the benefits of alcohol significantly outweighed the risks associated with the behavior. Teens understand the risks involved with drinking the alcohol, but find that the drinking of alcohol itself is too satisfying for them not to do it! The teenage brain puts such a huge focus on rewards, that the rewards almost always outweigh the negative associated consequences.

Teens Vs. Adults recap

It seems that teens ability to think “too logically” actually interferes with their decision making. Most adults would agree that they think more logically than teens, but studies show that they don’t. Then how is an adult able to make better decisions? Adults actually think more illogically and use more intuition when making decisions! Adults actually make decisions by being more intuitive rather than being too logical.

Two types of teen risk-takers:

1) Risky-deliberators — This type of risk taker relies on reasoning that is age-appropriate and logical. The majority of teens are in this category. Before doing something dangerous, teens trade off risks for benefits. Though most of the time, risky deliberators think that since the benefits outweigh the risks, a potentially dangerous action is alright to engage in. Unfortunately, this type of risk taker could be involved in a tragedy.

An example of a situation that would most likely trouble a risky-deliberator: A friend suggests to the “risky-deliberator” that they should steal playstation games from Target. The “risky-deliberator” would think about getting caught and the trouble that he could get into. If the value of the games was more worthy than getting caught, the “risky-deliberator” would go steal the games.

2) Risky-reactors – This type of risk taker just doesn’t think deeply or analytically. They act impulsively because of some pleasurable temptation in their surroundings. Risky reactors don’t intend to do anything dangerous, but due to many factors (i.e. peer pressure) they get pulled into risky situations that they aren’t able to successfully evaluate. Luckily, the majority of risky-reactors grow out of their behavior by adulthood.

An example of a troubling situation for a risky-reactor: Everyone is at a high-school football game and one friend tells the “risky-reactor” and other friends around the “risky-reactor” that he smuggled in some alcohol and wants them to try it. The “risky-reactor” would not think this situation through, may get excited in the heat of the moment, and would probably have some alcohol — while remaining unaware of the danger and potential consequences.

Here are some suggestions to help reduce your teen’s risk-taking behavior:

Talk to your teen. Inform them, debate with them, and demonstrate why they should resist risky behaviors. Present them with some facts about their social norms. Provide them with safe alternatives for the potential risky-behaviors that they may engage in. When you talk, teens actually do listen.

Help them understand. Help your teenager understand the truth about potential situations that they may face. Tell them the real truth about alcohol, drugs, and HIV. This will help get the risks in their memory.

Make some rules. Though you shouldn’t have absolute authority over your teens life, you should make some rules. Rules can be things like telling them to be home at a certain time, having a limit on the number of passengers in their car, and reducing exposure to alcohol.

Monitor and watch over. It is important to monitor and watch over your teens whenever possible. When you are around, they will be much less likely to engage in risky behavior. You don’t need to try to get involved in their life, but keep an eye on them ;)

Show and encourage healthy behaviors. Encourage your teens to develop positive, healthy behaviors and good friends. Friends and behaviors go hand-in-hand. When they hang out with positive people that have healthy habits, they will be much more likely to turn out the same way!

Teens need YOU, their brain is still developing!

It doesn’t really matter whether your kid is a “risky-reactor” or a “risky-deliberator.” What matters most is that they get the extra guidance from their parents that they need. Their brains are still developing and making significant changes in neural-networking. As a parent, it is important to nurture your child’s brain in the best possible way by being around for support!

References: Scientific American Mind. December 2006 / January 2007 Issue.  Article: “Is The Teen Brain Too Rational? Authors: Valerie F. Reyna and Frank Farley

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