Causes/Risk Factors
Name at least three risk factors for teenagers' engagement in risky behavior.
Which environment does the CDC recommend intervening for reducing risky behaviors?
School
Which 3 substance had the most reported use in adolescents?
Nicotine (vaping), marijuana, and alcohol
In a recent 2020 study, what percentage of U.S. high school students said they had used alcohol, drugs or smoked cigarettes?
What is 75 percent?
Do economic-related factors play a role in risky behavior in those addicted to alcohol/drugs? Y/N - If Y, how so?
Yes, some people will take the risk of engaging in behaviors such as prostitution, robbery, theft, fraud, or other petty crimes to procure drugs or money for drugs.
As clinicians, what can we support our adolescent clients regarding risky behavior reduction?
Skills like communication, emotional awareness, peer-refusal skills and emotional regulation.
Name an environmental factor that contributes to substance use amongst adolescents?
Product advertisements/media
Can substance related cravings lead to engagement in risky behavior? Y/N – Why/Why not?
Yes, the surge of dopamine overwhelms the brain and leads to powerful cravings for more of the substance. Increased use negatively affects the parts of the brain that control decision-making and impulse control.
Talking about risky behavior can result in reduction. T/F & why?
In the absence of education and communication from parents, teens may turn to their peers for info and be influenced by them.
List three potential consequences of risky behavior in teens.
Physical consequences: harming self or others, violence, illness/disease, and death.
Emotional/mental consequences: depression, anxiety, or other mental health conditions, SI, low self-esteem, etc.
Academic/Professional consequences: inability to finish school, difficulty securing and maintaining employment
What is one major reason drug/alcohol use triggers risky behavior?
Neurology - drugs have a negative effect on the prefrontal cortex that controls decision-making and impulse control. The individual is more likely to take risky actions that they wouldn’t have if their brains weren’t compromised.
How can after school programs help with reducing risky behavior?
Reduce community violence and increase school connectedness and adaptive skills.
Why are teens more likely to engage in risky behaviors?
Teens prefrontal cortex does not matures until later in development. This means teens can be more prone to riskier and impulsive behaviors, and less likely to consider consequences of their actions.
What makes teens more susceptible to engaging in risky behavior?
The prefrontal cortex powers the ability to think, plan, solve problems, make decisions, and exert self-control over impulses. However, it is the last part of the brain to mature, making teens most vulnerable.
How can providing autonomy to adolescents help with reduction in risky behavior?
It’s an exercise in self-governance, self-regulatory behavior, and independence, with parental guidance and limits.
The number of students who estimated to have met the medical criteria for a substance abuse disorder in 2011 is...
1.6 million students