NCJ Number
242581
Date Published
2011
Length
145 pages
Annotation
This report presents the proceedings of three multidisciplinary workshops that considered the findings of scientific research on the factors related to adolescent risk-taking behavior.
Abstract
The first of the three workshops convened by the Committee on the Science of Adolescence of the Institute of Medicine and the National Research Council focuses on the prevalence and nature of adolescent risk-taking and on the potential contributions of the neural, biological, intellectual, and socio-emotional developments characteristic of adolescence. The second workshop examined interpersonal, institutional, and contextual influences on adolescent risk-taking behavior; and the third workshop integrated lessons learned from the previous two workshops; and potential implications are drawn for policy and practice. This report intends to stimulate further work on this subject and encourage more of the cross-disciplinary thinking that characterized the workshops. Following an introductory chapter that discusses the importance of studying adolescent risk-taking behavior as an important public safety issue, a chapter sets the stage for exploring the relevant research by presenting a portrait of the physical and mental health status of American adolescents. The next three chapters present theoretical explanations for why adolescence is a high-risk stage of development and why some adolescents engage in more risky behaviors than others. One of these chapters addresses bio-behavioral processes related to risk-taking, followed by a chapter that examines social and cognitive theories regarding adolescent decisionmaking, and a chapter that reviews research on sociological and contextual factors as well as some of the variables that may assist in linking context and behavior, such as values, social skills, and social supports. The final chapter explains six statements that integrate findings. Approximately 160 references and appended agendas of each of the 3 workshops