Parenting the Risk-Taking Years
Risk
A ‘risk’ is a general construct, not restricted to illegal or dangerous behaviours but instead, it can be thought as falling along a spectrum of desirability (Duell & Steinberg, 2019). At one end of the spectrum are positive risks, which are socially acceptable risks (e.g., trying out for a new sports team or forming a new friendship), and the other end are negative risks, which are illegal or dangerous behaviours (e.g., drinking or stealing) that can be harmful.
Risk can be broadly defined by 3 components (Holton, 2004):
a) Potential for both rewards and costs
b) Variability in the likelihood of potential outcomes
c) Uncertainty about the outcomes
The transition from puberty to adolescence is associated with an increase in sensation-seeking, risk preference, and reward sensitivity. Taking risks to gain rewards is exacerbated by the presence of peers (Steinberg, 2008), whereby the harmful behaviour is perceived as the lessor risk. For example, trying a vape for the first time despite knowing the health risks, might seem less risky than being socially ostracised.
Risk-taking is normal for adolescent development and it offers adaptive purposes, such as exploring independence, developing identity, and improving decision-making skills (Fryt & Szczygiela, 2021). However, falling into negative risk-taking behaviour can have harmful consequences. It is therefore important to understand why adolescents engage in negative risks and to encourage positive risk-taking to promote personal growth.
Negative Risk-Taking
It can be challenging for parents to navigate the ‘risk-taking years’ and encourage their child to engage in positive risks, rather than negative risks. Positive and negative risk taking are driven by similar domain-general propensity for risk-taking and can share certain psychological correlates such as sensation seeking (Duell & Steinberg, 2019).
Developmental, social and environmental changes following puberty prepare for functional risk and exploration, leaving the adolescent vulnerable to dysfunctional risk behaviours and misconduct (Kirkbride, 2017). Parenting the ‘risk-taking years’ is challenging due to the unpredictable nature of adolescents and it can be difficult to recognise if their child is engaging in negative risks.
Negative risk-taking can have harmful consequences on a teenager’s health and wellbeing. Predictors of negative risk-taking are behaviours of impulsivity and a lack of emotional regulation and are often associated with peer pressure and seeking gratification without considering long-term consequences (Fryta & Szczygiela, 2021). Adolescence is marked by efforts to "become a functioning adult" and thus characterised by the desire to engage in perceived ‘adult’ activities such as autonomous decision making, drinking, smoking, and gambling. New social or academic expectations can lead to a pressure to perform for validation and efforts to be accepted within a group (otherwise referred to as impression management), resulting in an increased vulnerability to negative risk (Kirkbride, 2017).
Negative risk taking can include:
- Substance/alcohol misuse
- Dangerous driving
- Stealing or vandalism
- Violence
- Unprotected/risky sexual behaviour
- Skipping school
- Compulsive gambling/video gaming
Predictors of Risk
There is a complex interplay of psychological, social, and developmental factors that shape risk-taking behaviours in youth (Fryta & Szczygiela, 2021). To understand these will allow for appropriate responses as opposed to reacting.
Developmental Influence
Adolescence is a period of heightened vulnerability to risky and reckless behaviour, also referred to as the ‘risk-taking’ years. Teenagers will make quick decisions without considering the consequences, because parts of the teenage brain that handle impulse and planning are still immature and perceive risk differently to adults (Romer, 2010).
Risk taking increases during the transition from childhood to adolescence due to the changes in the brain’s socio-emotional system, following puberty. This period is marked by heightened reward-seeking and sensation seeking, especially in the presence of peers, driven by a significant remodelling of the brain’s dopaminergic system, which is crucial for emotional and motivational regulation (Steinberg, 2008).
The prefrontal cortex, which is responsible for decision-making, self-control, and risk assessment is still maturing during adolescence and this incomplete development leads to the increased impulsivity responsible for risk-taking behaviour (Fryta & Szczygiela, 2021). In addition to this, the limbic system, which regulates emotions and the reward system, develops earlier, and causes an imbalance between emotional and reward-driven responses and rational decision-making (Fryt & Szczygiela, 2021).
The increased sensitivity to reward and the immature ability to control one’s behaviour at this age contributes to the inadequate assessment of the consequences and negative outcomes associated with the risk-taking behaviour (Reniers et al., 2016). Therefore, the risk-taking years can be extremely challenging for parents to navigate as their child may not fully understand the true risk associated with the behaviour and could fall down a path to negative risk-taking behaviour.
Social and Environmental Influence
Adolescents spend most of their time with peers and are therefore susceptible to peer pressure, making peer influence one of the most influential factors driving negative risk-taking in adolescents. Adolescents will take negative risks because of impulse and consequences that feel good and will be more focused on the reward and outcome they experience when they are admired by their friends, through the positive reinforcement they get by being included. The desire for social acceptance and validation can lead to risky behaviours, such as substance use, reckless driving, or skipping school (Fryt & Szczygiela, 2021).
The extent to which an adolescent’s peers engage in alcohol or illicit drug use is the most significant predictor of the adolescent’s own substance use (Chassin et al., 2004). A study found that males will generally engage in more risk-taking behaviours due to the social norms around masculinity that play a role in promoting riskier behaviours in males (Fryt & Szczygiela, 2021). Both epidemiological and experimental studies on adolescent risk taking indicate that the presence of peers alter how the potential costs and rewards of a decision are perceived, and that peer observation increases risk taking among adolescents even when information regarding the likelihood of positive and negative outcomes is provided (Smith et al., 2014).
Smith et al. (2014) examined adolescent participants completing a novel probabilistic gambling task, either alone or under the belief they were being observed by a peer and found that those who believed they were being observed, gambled more frequently, particularly in decisions with a higher chance of loss. Both peer relationships and family dynamics were also examined as influencing risk-taking behaviours, and a supportive social environment and strong emotional regulation skills increased the promotion of positive risk-taking, whereas negative family and peer influences increase negative risk-taking (Fryt & Szczygiela, 2021).
Empirically Based Interventions
A growing body of research suggests that adolescent risk behaviours do not occur in isolation, but are driven by the accumulative interplay of risk factors such as peer influence, sensation seeking, biological predispositions, and state-specific traits such as the direct effects of substance use or aggression. Whereby participation in a given risk behaviour leads to increased risk for others (Hale et al., 2014). This co-occurrence is not being addressed in current interventions to reduce adolescent risk behaviours, therefore, targeting multiple risk behaviours (MHRBs) simultaneously may be more effective than targeting a single risk behaviour. For adolescents, school environment, peer pressure, and social norms contribute to an increase in the likelihood of risk behaviours, therefore, school-based interventions provide a platform for effectively targeting common risk factors for adolescents, particularly during the risk-taking years.
Peer influence seems to be one of the most influential factors toward negative risk taking behaviour, therefore, educational programs aimed at reducing risky behaviours during adolescence limited to the provision of information about the negative consequences may be an ineffective solution to reducing negative risk taking behaviours as these decisions are heavily influenced by peers. In other words, it is not simply a matter of knowing that is the problem, but the 'doing' part.
Integrated, multicomponent risk prevention programs are most effective across a range of risk behaviours in adolescence, with the strongest evidence for various forms of substance use and for school-based interventions. School-based programs are most accessible and have positive outcomes for adolescents during the risk-taking years, whereas parent or family-based interventions may be more effective for an adult parenting during the risk-taking years. Let's explore these below.
School Based Interventions
One study (Hale et al., 2014) evaluated 32 school-based interventions, and found the majority produced positive outcomes for targeting risk behaviours across substance use, aggression and sexual risk behaviour. Successful interventions were multicomponent programs with targeted interventions. Interventions designed to match the developmental needs of adolescents, targeting specific risks and protective factors associated with substance use, while recognising the important influence of peers in risky behaviour were most effective. Multicomponents of successful programs included enhancing refusal skills, developing students’ problem-solving skills, stress management, decision making skills, and strategies to resist peer pressure (Hale et al., 2014).
Family Based Interventions
Family based interventions comprise of parenting skills, group training, parent resources, homework tasks requiring parental involvement, and a combination of these approaches. Based on family interaction theory or social or behavioural learning models, these interventions aim to improve student-parent communication, reinforce refusal skills, teach effective parenting skills, and develop problem solving skills (Hale et al., 2014). Studies have shown there are numerous modifiable parenting factors that are associated with adolescent risk behaviours, therefore, parent-based interventions that encourage value-based discussions, rule setting, positive parental modelling, and parental encouragement, can be effective in promoting positive risk taking behaviours in adolescents. Parental strategies that focus on enhancing parents’ self-efficacy to provide safe exploration within firm boundaries (resisting the urge to engineer environments), balanced with unconditional warmth and support will nurture trusting and quality parent-teen relationships that help guide teens through their risk-taking years (Champion et al., 2022).
Positive Risk Taking
Community based interventions typically consist of skills enhancement programs, youth programs, and counselling supportive-listening approach showing some success when targeting health risk behaviours regarding tobacco use. More convincing is the reliance on communal activities to promote positive risk-taking.
Positive risk-taking yields the benefit of improving adolescent’s well being and fulfilling their desires for exciting and risky activities through behaviours that are safe and can be facilitated with adult support or societal resources (Duell & Steinberg, 2019). Positive risks are legal and socially acceptable and involve exploring unfamiliar territory, learning new things and stepping out of your comfort zone and facilitating personal growth.
Self-efficacy and sensation seeking are strong predictors of positive risk-taking, as individuals will seek experiences that offer personal challenges, without harm (Fryta & Szczygiela, 2021), and are developmentally constructive in challenging oneself for self-growth (Duell & Steinberg, 2019). Positive risk taking attenuates the desire for negative risk taking, and provides the opportunity to explore their own limits and abilities in new experiences, as well as through the boundaries they can set.
Positive risk-taking can include:
- Trying a new challenging sport (e.g., rock climbing, competitive team sport, performance sports e.g., dance or gymnastics)
- Arts (e.g., school play or band)
- Education (e.g., getting involved in a maths or spelling competition, enrolling in a challenging unit)
- Volunteering (e.g., running for school captain or committee)
- The process of applying for a part-time job
- Paint ball, Tough Mudder or other similar activities
- Camps or camping with friends
- Mountain climbs or challenging treks
- Pushing self outside of comfort zone in charitable challenges, or personal endeavours
- Visiting somewhere new or trying new foods
- Making new friends
- Going on a school trip/immersion
Adolescents’ engagement in positive risk-taking is associated with peers’ behaviour, therefore, it is important for adolescents to build strong positive friendships that enhance their willingness to take positive risks (Fryt & Szcygiela, 2021). As a parent, encouraging a wide social network and getting to know your child’s peers is beneficial to building a strong support system. Clarifying the nature of positive risks can allow youth development initiatives and schools to develop programs that create opportunities for adolescents to take positive risks (Duell & Steinberg, 2019). Parenting the risk-taking years is a tightrope walk, so it is important to identify when your child is taking harmful risks, and how to encourage positive risk-taking behaviour.
Try This!
Taking risks during adolescence is a normal part of growing up as it is natural for teenagers to want new experiences in order to facilitate self-growth, shape their own identities, and gain independence. As a parent, this can be scary, but it is important to encourage positive risk-taking behaviour during adolescence through the exploration of new and risky experiences that cause no true harm, instead of engaging in negative risks that are dangerous or illegal.
To encourage safe risk-taking, try this:
- If your child is into thrill-seeking: try channelling and encouraging this energy into safe and constructive activities such as: rock-climbing, competitive sports, personal challenges that push them outside their comfort zone, martial arts, or performing arts
- Keep an eye out for activities offered by the school or community: encourage your child to get involved in a club or program offered by the school that may already align with their hobbies.
- Provide your child autonomy and independence in some areas so they can test themselves and their decision-making skills without doing antisocial/illegal things e.g., you may not like if your teenager chooses to dye their hair or dress in a certain way, but it is a healthy way to experiment.
- Talk about behaviour and consequences: help your child learn to evaluate how much risk is involved in different situations, through curiosity, ‘There may be times when it is hard to say no to drugs, and knowing how bad they are for your health I know you can stay strong, what do you think?’
- Stay connected: try to build a strong and open relationship with your child throughout the teenage years, as they will be more inclined to be honest with you about peer pressure situations or contact you when in need.
- Agree on rules: be flexible and adapt rules as your child grows, discussing rules and consequences is important to prepare them for building responsibility.
- Talk about values: portraying good family values and a sensible role model is important to help your child develop personal values and responsible behaviour e.g., driving safely, drinking alcohol responsibly.
- Get to know your child’s friends: organise a gathering at the house to build relationships with their peers and to be familiar with who they surround themselves with during this time.
- Help your child handle peer pressure: brainstorm some ways your child can use to escape risky situations without feeling judged or embarrassed by peers e.g., having a “secret code/text” they can send you to come pick them up or an excuse.
- Consider seeking help and support: risk-taking is normal, however, if your child seems to be regularly taking extreme risks with dangerous consequences, or exhibiting self-destructive behaviour, consider visiting a GP or psychologist.
References
Champion, K. E., Gardner, L. A., McCann, K., Hunter, E., Parmenter, B., Aitken, T., Chapman, C., Spring, B., Thornton, L., Slade, T., Teesson, M., & Newton, N. C. (2022). Parent-based interventions to improve multiple lifestyle risk behaviors among adolescents: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Preventive Medicine, 164, 107247. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2022.107247
Chassin, L., Flora, D. B., & King, K. M. (2004). Trajectories of Alcohol and Drug Use and Dependence From Adolescence to Adulthood: The Effects of Familial Alcoholism and Personality. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 113(4), 483–498. https://doi.org/10.1037/0021-843x.113.4.483
Duell, N., & Steinberg, L. (2019). Positive Risk Taking in Adolescence. Child Development Perspectives, 13(1), 48–52. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdep.12310
Fryt, J., Szczygieł, M., & Duell, N. (2021). Positive and negative risk taking in adolescence: Age patterns and relations to social environment. New Directions for Child and Adolescent Development, 2021(179). https://doi.org/10.1002/cad.20431
Hale, D. R., Fitzgerald-Yau, N., & Viner, R. M. (2014). A Systematic Review of Effective Interventions for Reducing Multiple Health Risk Behaviors in Adolescence. American Journal of Public Health, 104(5), e19–e41. https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.2014.301874
Holton, G. A. (2004). Defining Risk. Financial Analysts Journal, 60(6), 19–25. https://doi.org/10.2469/faj.v60.n6.2669
Kirkbride, R. (2018). Counselling young people : a practitioner manual. Sage.
Reniers, R. L. E. P., Murphy, L., Lin, A., Bartolomé, S. P., & Wood, S. J. (2016). Risk Perception and Risk-Taking Behaviour during Adolescence: The Influence of Personality and Gender. PLOS ONE, 11(4), e0153842. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0153842
Romer, D. (2010). Adolescent risk taking, impulsivity, and brain development: Implications for prevention. Developmental Psychobiology, 52(3). https://doi.org/10.1002/dev.20442
Smith, A. R., Chein, J., & Steinberg, L. (2014). Peers increase adolescent risk taking even when the probabilities of negative outcomes are known. Developmental Psychology, 50(5), 1564–1568. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0035696
Steinberg, L. (2006). Risk Taking in Adolescence: What Changes, and Why? Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1021(1), 51–58. https://doi.org/10.1196/annals.1308.005
Steinberg, L. (2008). A social neuroscience perspective on adolescent risk-taking. Developmental Review, 28(1), 78–106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2007.08.002