Healthy risk-taking is a positive tool in an adolescent's life for discovering,
developing, and consolidating his or her identity. Adolescent risk-taking
only becomes negative when the risks are dangerous. Healthy risks -- often
understood as "challenges" -- can turn unhealthy risks in a more
positive direction, or prevent them from ever taking place to begin with.
It is important to remember that learning how to assess risks is a process
that we work on throughout our lives. Adolescents need both support and
tools to be able to do this. Below are some suggestions for healthy alternatives
to unhealthy risk-taking. In order to undertake healthy alternatives to
dangerous risk-taking, adolescents need the active help and support of the
adults in their lives, including parents and teachers. Any of the
healthy risks in the right-hand column are excellent alternatives to any
of the behaviors shown on the left.
| UNHEALTHY RISK BEHAVIOR | HEALTHY RISK ALTERNATIVES |
| Dangerous dieting, eating disorders | Physical activities such as sports teams, horseback riding, in-line skating, walking, or jogging |
| Using drugs or alcohol | Under the supervision of a trained expert, engaging in outlets for extreme physical and emotional thrills such as white-water rafting, rock climbing, camping, etc.; creative activity such as joining a band or the production of a play |
| Running away, staying out all night, living on the streets | Learning or practicing a creative art form such as photography, pottery, video, dance, or creative writing |
| Unprotected sexual activity | Learning to talk about sex and relationships, working on open communication with partners and parents |
| Gang violence, weapons, bullying, scapegoating | Seeking out new friends, volunteering in the community, participating in a student exchange program, transferring to a new school if necessary |
| Shoplifting, stealing | Getting a part-time job such as baby-sitting, camp or after-school counselor, retail clerk in clothing or music store, tutoring |
(1) All teenagers take risks as a normal part of growing up. Risk-taking
is the tool an adolescent uses to define and develop his or her identity,
and healthy risk-taking is a valuable experience.
(2) Healthy adolescent risk-taking behaviors which tend to have a positive
impact on an adolescent's development can include participation is sports,
the development of artistic and creative abilities, volunteer activities,
travel, running for school office, making new friends, constructive contributions
to the family or community, and others. Inherent in all of these activities
is the possibility of failure. Parents must recognize and support their
children with this.
(3) Negative risk-taking behaviors which can be dangerous for adolescents
include drinking, smoking, drug use, reckless driving, unsafe sexual activity,
disordered eating, self-mutilation, running away, stealing, gang activity,
and others.
(4) Unhealthy adolescent risk-taking may appear to be "rebellion"
-- an angry gesture specifically directed at parents. However, risk-taking,
whether healthy or unhealthy, is simply part of a teen's struggle to test
out an identity by providing self-definition and separation from others,
including parents.
(5) Some adolescent behaviors are deceptive -- a teen may genuinely try
to take a healthy risk that evolves into more dangerous behavior. For example,
many adolescent girls fail to recognize the trap of dieting and fall into
a pattern of disordered eating, sometimes even developing a full eating
disorder. Parents need to be well informed in order to help their adolescents
with such struggles.
(6) Red flags which help identify dangerous adolescent risk-taking can include
psychological problems such as persistent depression or anxiety which goes
beyond more typical adolescent "moodiness"; problems at school;
engaging in illegal activities; and clusters of unhealthy risk-taking behaviors
(e.g., smok ing, drinking and driving recklessly might be happening at the
same time, as might disordered eating and self-mutilation, or running away
and stealing).
(7) Since adolescents need to take risks, parents need to help them find
healthy opportunities to do so. Healthy risk-taking, not only important
in itself, can help prevent unhealthy risk-taking.
(8) Adolescents often offer subtle clues about their negative risk-taking
behaviors through what they say about the behaviors of friends and family,
including parents. Parents often stay silent about their own histories of
risk-taking and experimenting, but it can be important to find ways to share
this information with adolescents in order to serve as role models, to let
teens know that mistakes are not fatal, and to encourage making healthier
choices than those the parent may have made during his or her own adolescence.
(9) Adolescents look to their parents for advice and modeling about how
to assess positive and negative risks. Parents need to help their teens
learn how to evaluate risks and anticipate the consequences of their choices,
and develop strategies for diverting their energy into healthier activities
when necessary.
(10) Parents need to pay attention to their own current patterns of risk-taking
as well. Teenagers are watching, and imitating, whether they acknowledge
this or not.
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