Risk Behavior in Adolescence: A Psychosocial Framework for Understanding and Action

Abstract

The exploration begins with some considerations about the basic notion of risk itself; it then turns to an examination of the organization of adolescent risk behavior and the utility of the concept of life-style. In the tradition of epidemiology, the use of the concept of risk has been essentially biomedical, reflecting a concern for adverse outcomes related to morbidity and mortality. The epidemiological search has been to locate agents or conditions that are associated with an increased probability of outcomes that compromise health, the quality of life, or life itself. The evidence for covariation has been less strong where nonproblem, health-risk behaviors are involved, such as eating, exercise, and safety behaviors. The effort to conceptualize and elaborate the antecedents or determinants of risk behaviors, as established risk factors, can continue to make use of the orientation of epidemiology toward the identification of risk factors.