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Risk-Taking Behavior in Adolescence

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Behavior Disorders of Adolescence

Abstract

Risk-taking behavior fascinates us. We bestow fame and the promise of fortune upon the young person who shaves a fraction of a second off the time it takes to hurtle down a mountain slope. Yet when our own adolescents take risks we frequently shudder. Although we encourage our sons and daughters to be adventurous and independent, at the same time we urge them to be sensible and careful. Herein lies one of the dilemmas posed by risk-taking behavior in adolescence: Where should the line be drawn between youthful testing of limits and unreasonably dangerous activity? We have only a sketchy understanding of the factors that determine the extent and nature of risk-taking behavior in adolescence. Yet such an understanding is necessary if we are to have a rational basis for helping young people to decide between actions involving acceptable and unacceptable risk.

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Authors
  1. Roger S. Tonkin
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  2. David N. Cox
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  3. A. Roger Blackman
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  4. Sam Sheps
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Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA

    Robert J. McMahon

  2. Department of Psychology, Queen’s University and Beechgrove Children’s Centre, Kingston, ON, Canada

    Ray DeV. Peters

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© 1990 Springer Science+Business Media New York

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Tonkin, R.S., Cox, D.N., Blackman, A.R., Sheps, S. (1990). Risk-Taking Behavior in Adolescence. In: McMahon, R.J., DeV. Peters, R. (eds) Behavior Disorders of Adolescence. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-3734-2_3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-3734-2_3

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4613-6662-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4615-3734-2

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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