#peerrelationships

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Ernie and me after he made me ugly cry. Love you Coach! #sca #balfarschallenge #lookwematch #peerrelationships #protege #scapelican

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Why Are Teen Brains Designed for Risk-taking?

Here are four ways parents can reduce the danger

This article so far has been the most interesting in trying to determine psychologically why risk-taking is occurring. Although most of these are related to your typical risk taking activities (ie. smoking, drinking, dangerous driving), I believe most of the reasoning behind this article can be applied to online as well. It would be really interesting to investigate whether it is true through this assignment! Here are the most important notes and aspects of this article.

“Adolescents and young adults take more risks than any other age groups.”

“People often believe that teens engage in risky behavior because they are not very good at evaluating risk.” Does it improve as they grow up?

“... adolescents are just as good as adults at evaluating risk across a broad range of risky behavior.” But does current research say this too?

“So, teens know that the behaviors are risky, but still engage in them. Why?”

“Research on peer relationships and brain development during the adolescence period may provide an answer.” So we could have some reasoning...

RESEARCHERS HAVE FOUND SEVERAL CHANGES IN THE BRAIN DURING PUBERTY THAT ARE IMPORTANT IN EXPLAINING RISK BEHAVIOR:

“... an increased interest in peer relationships and susceptibility to peer influence increases during the early teen years and peaks at about age 14.” “... adolescents more sensitive to the rewards of peer relationships than adults, This motivates teens to focus on their peers in decision-making situations that involve risky behavior.” Looking to what others do online to decide how to behave. So about approval and popularity.

“... adolescents are more distressed than adults when excluded by peers.” So acceptance is needed. “When teens do use this area of the brain [right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex] during peer exclusion, they report lower levels of distress (...) this brain region is still developing, so adolescents may not be as effective at at controlling distress during peer social exclusion. This likely contributes to engaging in risky behaviors to prevent being excluded by their peers.”

“... the lateral prefrontal cortex is responsible for mature self-regulation and develops gradually over the adolescent period. (...) Early adolescents were more likely to engage in risky driving when friends were present.” Driving! What about online? Would it be the same? “Late adolescents were somewhat more risky in their driving when they were with friends (...) in contrast to adults, adolescents were more likely to engage in risky driving when they knew that their friends were observing them than when they were alone.” Online, would this be observing their profile? ie: how many friends someone has. If their friends list is private - would one care less? “...adolescents used area of the brain that are more closely associated with rewards...” instead of decision making and self-regulation.

“So we have changes in the brain during early adolescents that make teens more focused on the rewards of peers and being included in peer activities. This increased focus on peers occurs during a time when the PFC is not yet ready to assist in mature self-regulation. These factors provide a “perfect storm” of opportunities for risky behavior.”

SAFETY TIPS FOR PARENTS:

“For younger adolescents, parent(s) might design the environment to provide safe activities that focus on young teens’ need for sensation-seeking.” Allow to share photos privately? Make sole groups with friends? Can it be done online?

“Supervising teens’ interactions with peers and providing rules for peer interactions can limit opportunities for risky behavior.” Creating rules for online activity.

The third rule talks about graduate rules and amount of people - could we apply this online and say kids can only have a certain amount of ‘virtual friends”?

“For older adolescents, parents can consult with teens about peers. Consulting can build on teens’ growing ability to self-regulate and encourage them to identify and develop strategies for navigating peer situations where risky activity is likely to occur.”

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