Study Document
Risky Behaviors in Adolescence Term Paper
Pages:3 (1010 words)
Sources:1+
Subject:Health
Topic:Teenage Smoking
Document Type:Term Paper
Document:#48370402
Risky Behaviors in Adolescents
Adolescents engage in a wide variety of risky behaviors in this day in age. Youth engage in activities that put them at risk for serious injury, sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV infection and chronic disease, such as heart disease and cancer ("Despite improvements," 2004). Risky behaviors that adolescents undertake can include but are not limited to substance use, unprotected sex and sexual promiscuity, failure to use seatbelts and helmets, violent behaviors, etc. On addition, problems with school work has been linked to cigarette smoking, alcohol use, involvement in weapon use and violence. Also, frequently "just hanging out" with friends has been associated with smoking and substance abuse. Having close friends who drink or smoke also puts youth at a higher risk factor for engaging in those behaviors (Carpenter, 2001). This paper will discuss how risky behaviors of adolescents can lead to serious diseases, a tragic accident, and prevention.
Risky behaviors can lead to serious diseases among adolescents. Just as nobody means to become addicted to any substance or behavior, nobody intends to become infected with diseases related to addiction. Being addicted or dependent puts an individual at a higher risk than others because their need for the addictive substance is often stronger than their good judgment. For example, if an individual is infected, he or she will often infect those close to them. A situation of that sort compounds the problem. The diseases that are most dangerous and that can afflict our youth today are among the following (Axmaker, L., 2003-2004):
Alcohol abusers are at risk for Hepatitis
Sex addicts may contract a number of sexually transmitted diseases including AIDS
Drug users risk AIDS and Hepatitis from sharing needles
Smokers face lung cancer, emphysema, and heart disease
Although some of these diseases may not afflict our youth early on, by putting themselves at risk and in risky situations, they are setting themselves up for the possibility of attaining one or more of these diseases. In addition to the possibility of attaining one of these diseases, adolescents may also attain other ailments due to risky behavior; for example, if an adolescent is of driving age and they do not practice good safety skills, such as wearing seatbelts or helmets, this could lead to accidents by automobiles, motorcycles or bikes, which could end fatally.
One example of a risky behavior that ended fatally is as follows. His name is Mike. Mike was 18 years old at the time a tragic accident that occurred which could have been prevented with better decision making. Mike decided to go for a drive with 2 of his friends in his truck out in the country. As Mike and his friends were driving along, they decided to stop at a store to buy a few alcoholic drinks. One of Mike's friends, Patrick, who was of drinking age, purchased the alcohol and they all proceeded to drink before Mike got on the road again. Once Mike was on the road, Norma, his friend, decided to propose a dare for…
Sample Source(s) Used
Works Cited
Axmaker, L. (2003-2004). Risky behaviors can lead to serious diseases. Retrieved April
24, 2005, from Wellsource Website: http://vanderbiltowc.wellsource.com/dh
Carpenter, S. (2001, January). Teens' risky behavior is about more than race and family resources. Monitor on Psychology, 32, 1. Retrieved April 24, 2005, from PsychNET database.
"Despite improvements, many high school students still engaging in risky health behaviors." (2004, May 20). Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, p.1
Related Documents
Study Document
Teen Behavior Adolescence Can Be
Over the last five years research has indicated that the brain of an adolescent is not as developed as researchers once thought. In fact, advances in technology have made it possible to further examine the development of the human brain. Researchers have found that part of the frontal lobe, referred to as the pre-frontal cortex that is believed to be the management center for the body, is not fully
Study Document
Reducing Risky Behavior for African-American Teens an
REDUCING RISKY BEHAVIOR FOR African-American TEENS An Intervention for Reducing Risky Behavior Among African-American Female Adolescents: Provider Cultural Competency Training The Office of Minority Health in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (2013) quotes Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. As a way to introduce the topic of updating and enhancing the National CLAS (Culturally and Linguistically Appropriate Services) Standards. The quote is "Of all forms of inequality, injustice in health
Study Document
Adolescent Influences and Adjustments What
The key years during which experimentation occurs - between 13 and 16. Kobus discusses influences that launch an adolescent's smoking habit from several perspectives. First, the "social learning theory": relationships that are "more intimate" and that are developed "earlier in the youth's experiences" and thought to be more important; and youths are more likely to "imitate the smoking habits" (or non-smoking habits) of those with whom they have the closes
Study Document
Adolescent Egocentrism and Delinquent Behaviors
Adolescent Egocentrism Posting #3 Read articles choose interest. Analyze articles describe leadership roles discussed. Compare attributes nurse leaders. •http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/global_health/home/News/women/mch_midwives. The influence of adolescent egocentrism (personal fable, imaginary audience, invincibility) on delinquent behavior Parents often refer to adolescents as egocentric and self-centered. However, this is not simply a subjective moral judgment of a frustrated mother or father -- it is an identified product of the biological and social experience of being an adolescent. Adolescent
Study Document
Adolescence Ages 11 to 19
Adolescence Describe two ways that brain development typically contributes to changes in thinking and behavior as individuals progress through adolescence (448-451). Provide two specific examples of how most adolescents think and reason (pp. 485-493). Because of the "Dramatic transformations" that occur during adolescence in the prefrontal cortex and the limbic brain regions, feelings of "fear and anger" emerge in the adolescent (p. 448). These fears and angry responses are due to the
Study Document
Adolescent Depression
Adolescent Depression The Family and Teen Depression Treatment Options for Teen Depression Adolescent Depression and the Family Teen depression is a serous condition that has been largely ignored until recent events in the media focused more attention to the seriousness of the problem. This research examines the attitudes and past research concerning teen depression. It examines past attitudes and clinical treatments of the past. Many of these ideas and treatments have been found