Adolescents at Risk: Causes, Behaviors, and Prevention

Introduction: Contemporary Issues and Concerns

"Some adolescents are troubled and some get into trouble. But the great majority (almost nine out of ten) do not. The bottom line is that good kids don't suddenly go bad in adolescence." — Laurence Steinberg and Ann Levine (Steinberg and Levine, as cited in Columbia World of Quotations, 1996).

Although adolescents may be "at risk" for a number of problems today, according to Laurence Steinberg, professor of psychology, and Ann Levine (Columbia World of Quotations, 1996), most adolescents — in fact, nine out of ten — do not regularly get into trouble. What constitutes a concern, however, is that one in ten "at risk" adolescent who may regularly engage in a number of the myriad problems confronting today's youth, as these negative behaviors frequently reach out and impact others in society. With this concern in mind, this paper examines several components relating to four contemporary issues, concerns, and problems that frequently co-occur.

Considerations addressed in this paper include identifying the adolescent "at risk" as well as the nature of the risks themselves, the causes of those risks, and specific actions that may be taken to counter and/or reduce them. In the article "Youth risk behaviors down over past 16 years," Mary Ellen Schneider (2008) reports that the 2007 National Youth Risk Behavior Survey revealed that, compared with their counterparts in the early 1990s, fewer high school students were engaging in particular high-risk health behaviors. Large numbers of adolescents, nevertheless, not only still take risks with their health — they continue to attempt suicide, use cigarettes, alcohol, and/or other drugs, carry weapons, and engage in sexual intercourse with numerous partners (Schneider, 2008). Anthony Biglan et al. (2005) assert in their book Helping Adolescents at Risk: Prevention of Multiple Problem Behaviors that repeated studies concur that similar risk factors contribute to a variety of negative youth behaviors. Biglan et al. write: "Preventive and intervention programs focusing on these particular risks will be more useful and cost-effective than those focusing on risk factors unique to one problem or another" (p. 59). Multiple problem behaviors, according to Biglan et al., include:

1. Severe antisocial behavior; 2. alcohol and/or drug misuse; 3. tobacco smoking/use; and 4. perilous sexual behavior (Biglan et al., 2005, p. 59).

Adolescents at Risk

In the journal article "Understanding adolescent substance abuse: Prevalence, risk factors, and clinical implications," J. J. Burrow-Sanchez (2006) stresses that during adolescence, challenges young people routinely face include increased independence, strong peer and group relationships, and concerns regarding future educational and career plans. D. L. Thatcher and D. Clark (2008) note in "Adolescents at risk for substance use disorders: Role of psychological dysregulation, endophenotypes, and environmental influences" that adolescence represents the developmental period of greatest risk for the onset of problematic behaviors, during which some young people routinely experiment with alcohol and other drug (AOD) use. Although some consider experimentation with alcohol "normal" during adolescence, those adolescents who binge drink or develop alcohol use disorders generally also abuse other drugs, particularly cigarettes and marijuana. Thatcher and Clark, like Biglan et al. (2005), assert that substance abuse behaviors are not only multifaceted but complex, with a multiplicity of genetic and environmental factors influencing them.

In their article "A service-learning model for at-risk adolescents," Judith A. Nelson and Daniel Eckstein (2008) note that the U.S. Department of Education reports the number of students suspended and expelled from schools has almost doubled during the past thirty years. During their study, Nelson and Eckstein depict a service-learning model that integrates the connection between "youth voice," service-learning programs, and constructing a "possibility" narrative of youth who are at-risk (¶ 4). Reasons for the increase in at-risk behavior reflected in suspension and expulsion rates appear to relate to "zero tolerance" policies, along with a number of other punitive disciplinary policies.

Social justice researchers contend that a correlation exists between Discipline Alternative Education Programs (DAEP) placement and prison, describing this relationship as the school-to-prison pipeline. The inability of urban schools to meet the needs of poor, minority, and at-risk students has, according to a number of researchers, triggered the increase in placements in alternative schools. Frequently, adolescents diagnosed with "one or several of the following concerns: low academic achievement, learning disabilities, attention deficit with hyperactivity, communication disorders, sensory impairment, and/or chronic truancy" (Nelson & Eckstein, 2008, Discipline Alternative Education Programs section, ¶ 2) begin to perceive themselves as deficient. The adults who know these adolescents too often adopt this same mind-set, constructing a deficit view of them. In turn, this negative perception may become the norm when describing these at-risk adolescents.

S. Yu et al. (2006) report in "Youth and parental perceptions of parental monitoring and parent-adolescent communication, youth depression, and youth risk behaviors" that adolescents' increasingly participating in risk-taking behaviors constitutes a strong characteristic of adolescence. Even so, certain subgroups who engage in high incidences of self-destructive behaviors — such as substance abuse, unprotected sexual intercourse with multiple partners, and violent behaviors — constitute one adolescent population subset "at risk" for self-destructive behavior.

During the many changes that occur during adolescence, some adolescents may experiment with alcohol, marijuana, methamphetamine, and other substances, subsequently determining whether to use or misuse them. Particular risk factors may influence the adolescent's decisions, research reveals. A risk factor, Burrow-Sanchez (2006) explains, generally denotes a factor that increases the likelihood an individual will abuse drugs, while a protective factor consists of factors that protect against and/or decrease the probability that a person will abuse substances. Two categories of risk factors for adolescents exist, according to Burrow-Sanchez:

The Risk Factors

1. Contextual factors include components such as drug laws, drug availability, the lowering of legal drinking ages, and decreased alcohol taxation — all risk factors for potential use by adolescents.

2. Individual factors may include the adolescent's temperament, his or her family practices, stressors and/or problems he or she may be experiencing, coexisting mental health diagnoses, problems related to school, negative peer influences, and early initiation into drug use (Burrow-Sanchez, 2006).

Risk factors relating to adolescent AOD use and substance use disorders (SUDs), Thatcher and Clark (2008) assert, may be characterized as heritable, environmental, and phenotypic. Thatcher and Clark explain:

"Heritable risk factors are reflected in familial patterns of SUDs and divided in other psychiatric disorders. Environmental risk factors include family-related characteristics, such as family functioning, parenting practices, and child maltreatment, as well as other contextual factors, such as peer influences, substance availability, and consumption opportunities." (Thatcher & Clark, 2008, ¶ 3)

Conclusion

During adolescence, the challenges young people regularly face include not only increased independence, strong peer and group relationships, and concerns regarding future educational and career plans, but also whether or not to engage in "at risk" behaviors. As adolescents increasingly participate in risk-taking behaviors during this period of intense change, they must decide what risks they will accept and which behaviors they will practice. Although individual factors — including the adolescent's temperament, family practices, stressors, mental health diagnoses, school-related problems, negative peer influences, and early initiation into drug use — all play a role, at some point he or she will be given opportunities to choose. What adults need to remember is that even though most adolescents develop and possess healthy coping skills, that one in ten "at risk" adolescents may not possess a strong set of coping behaviors. That young person will likely need a caring adult to help him or her learn to cope in healthier ways and to refrain from engaging in behaviors that place him or her at even greater risk of harm.