Maybe you're wondering why your teen snuck out the window after you thought he was in bed. Or perhaps you're trying to understand why your friend's daughter was drinking alcohol at a party. The answer isn't a simple one. Teens' behavior depends a lot on personality, role models, hormones, and their school, home and community environment. While there is a lot to take into consideration, there are a few theories as to why teens push their limits.
1. Pre-frontal Cortex Development
The pre-frontal cortex, the piece of the brain right behind the forehead, is the center of executive reasoning. The pre-frontal cortex governs things such as making choices between right or wrong and giving thought to the consequences of decisions, and is the place in the brain that controls emotional and sexual urges.
The pre-frontal cortex is also the last part of the brain to develop. So if you think about it, while teens may able to think abstractly and understand consequences, they also have less ability to act in consideration of those consequences. This can lead to some tricky situations.
2. Identity Development
Many mental health professionals agree that one reason teens take risks is in order to develop their senses of self and feelings of identity. The possibilities that you encounter when doing something new factor into who you become. There are many details, both large and small, one could pick out of an experience that influence who we choose to be and inform us how to deal with other experiences. It is likely that your teen is using experiences, both positive and negative, to help him decide (and not always in a conscious way) what is important and who he wants to be in relation to his environment, peers and family.
3. Peer Pressure
In one study conducted through the National Institute of Health that examined teen driving behaviors, researchers found that teens were more likely to engage in risky driving behaviors like speeding if there were other same-gendered teens in the car. This is only one study, but it points a finger in the same direction as other research showing that teens tend to take more risks when their friends are around. Why is this? Call it the "cool" factor, or the intimidation factor, or look at it as your teen trying to find identity within her peer group. While peer pressure has gotten some bad press, it's important to remember that peer pressure, when positive, can also help your teen achieve healthy goals.
If you're concerned that your teens are taking risks that are endangering them, you can help. Take time out to talk to them about healthy risk-taking. Encourage them to explore new things that they haven't yet encountered. Share your own history by explaining the things that you experienced when you were a teen that were an integral part of shaping who you are. Help your teen think through the consequences of his actions and evaluate what outcome may be best. Finally, think about what you might be silently role modeling. As we've seen with the LiveStrong.com youth health behaviors survey, young people are paying close attention to the adults in their lives -- in particular family members. So remember what you're modeling and think twice about that next risk. Make it a healthy one and your teen may be following suit, to your happy surprise.
