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High-risk behaviors can be defined as an individual’s lifestyle activity which increase a person’s likelihood of risk of having or suffering from a certain condition, injury, or illness. For example, taking drugs increases a student’s risk of failing exams, having poor grades and having serious disciplinary issues. Also, an individual who has consumed alcohol is more likely to cause a road accident as compared to a person who has not taken any alcoholic drink. In this case, we can classify the drug use and drunk driving as high-risk behaviors. The outcome of this high-risk behaviors, in this case, are poor grades, disciplinary issues, failing exams and accidents. This term paper will discuss the concept of high-risk behaviors. It will also provide examples of high-risk behaviors and their effects to help the reader understand more about the high-risk behaviors. It will also explain how the high-risk behaviors can lead to criminal activity.
Although adults are also at a risk of having he high-risk behaviors, the largest victims of these behaviors are the youth. They are the most susceptible to high-risk behaviors. They are also the ones who are at the highest risk of being destroyed by such high-risk behaviors. Teenagers especially are the most affected by these behaviors (Clarke, 2010). The main reason why teenagers are most affected by high-risk behaviors is their struggle for independence and dependence (Bond, Thomas, Toumbourou, Patton & Catalano, 2010). At their age, teenagers want their parents to let them do what they want whenever they please. For example, they want their parents to allow them to attend parties, even at school nights without questioning them about where they have been or what they do at these parties. They also want their parents to let them make all decisions regarding when to read, watch movies, go out to have fun and perform other activities they regard to as fun.
However, parents do not allow them to do so in most cases. They always want to protect their children as it is the first instinct of every parent. The parents are aware that allowing them to perform such activities or do as they please may have serious consequences afterwards. They thus want to prevent their children from regretting later something they could have avoided in their youth. Teenagers, on the other hand, fail to understand the actions of their parents. They feel that their parents do not understand them at all. They always say that their parents are embarrassing them when they correct their action sin front of their friends. They also believe their parents are limiting them from having fun. The most important factor that they forget is the fact that their parents were once teenagers and thus, understand, more than anyone, what is happening to them. In an aim to show their parents that they do not like their interference with their lives, teenagers tend to engage in high-risk behaviors (Clarke, 2010).
Another factor that led teenagers to take part in high-risk behaviors is to prove to their peers as well as their parents that they are capable (Bond, Thomas, Toumbourou, Patton & Catalano, 2010). At their growth stage, teenagers want to show people that they have the capability to perform certain activities. They at times want to prove others wrong when they challenge them to do a certain thing or say that they are not capable of doing a certain thing. This is especially reverent among their peers. Teenagers at their adolescent age tend to challenge each other to do certain things. For example, they may challenge each other to take a puff of cigarette or bhang and other drugs. To prove that they are capable, unlike their peers’ thoughts they engage in these activities.
As has been proven, addiction to substances and drug abuse start with a simple step. Smoking cigarettes and other drugs starts with one puff and it accelerates to a point where one is addicted. As teenagers challenge each other to perform certain acts, they fail to recognize that starting bad behaviors puts them at a high-risk of addicting and eventually engaging in high-risk behaviors which are very dangerous. For example, drug and substance abuse may result in the students dropping out of school or even engaging in crime which are high-risk behaviors that are very dangerous.
Moreover, teenagers wanting to prove that they are grownups is another reason they engage in high-risk behaviors. At their age, they want to be treated like grownups and thus do things only grownups would do. For example, they engage in sexual activity way before they mature, something they are not supposed to do at their age. However, they know that it is wrong for people their age to do such activities, but since they want to be treated as adults, they engage in these activities. Parents thus need to be careful while they talk to their children concerning such behaviors.
Most risk-taking behaviors are negative in nature. They lead the youths to do things that they should not do and which eventually affect their health or the health of other people. Examples of risk-taking behaviors whose negative implications are severe and especially affects an individual's health include drunk driving and substance or alcohol abuse. Drunk driving may lead to a person causing an accident. By so doing, the individual may get seriously injured or injure other people, it may even result in loss of life of the person or other people. Alcohol and substance abuse are equally dangerous. People who have used either alcohol or substance abuse may harm others, even without their knowledge and end up regretting later.
In addition, dropping out of school and running away from home are other high-risk behaviors. They are dangerous as they affect the youth substantially. Teenagers who drop out of school end up being very miserable in their life. They tend to have no jobs and thus engage in crime and other bad behaviors. Those who run away from home also suffer the same fate (Garcia &Mann, 2013). Early or high-risk sexual activity, suicidal thoughts and talks, criminal activity, harming oneself, assaulting other people, engaging in criminal activities, and dissociation are also examples of high-risk behaviors. They all have negative implications for an individual’s health and social life in general.
Despite high-risk behaviors having negative implications, there are those that have positive effects. For an individual growth and development, there is a percentage of high-risk behavior which is important. Some risk-taking behaviors allow individuals to learn skills which are crucial to their development. Others allow people to test their limits while others allow them to acquire self-worth. Some high-risk behaviors also allow people develop competence while others allow them to develop a sense of responsibility. Examples of high-risk behaviors that are important to a person’s growth and development include pursuing new interests like presentations in social congresses, debate club or playing musical instruments. These activities allow them to gain new skills which they can employ later in their lives. Another example is getting a job.
There are several signs which parents can use to identify high-risk behaviors. They include low self-esteem and the person feeling of inadequacy, lack of empathy, dropping performance at school. Also, bloodshot eyes and changes in speech, and this may especially indicate that the teenager is using drugs or other substances that are harmful to their health. Attending parties frequently, breaking instilled curfew, discussing substance and drugs on social media and other platforms or having poor social skills are also ways of identifying a person engaging in high-risk behaviors.
Parents and other people addressing high-risk behaviors, especially in youths, need to be very careful. This is because the youths end to have advice given fall in deaf ears. They are told to correct a certain behavior, but instead they continue doing it. The main reason behind this is the good-news-bad-news effect. Youths, and especially teenagers tend to believe that bad things cannot happen to them. Rather, they believe that despite their high-risk behavior, they will experience no negative consequences. Even when shown the statistics, they fail to change their behavior (Sanci, 2011).
Ways in which parents can use to help their youths avoid or manage high-risk behaviors include knowing their, where, who, what, when and when. Parents should be at all times aware what they are doing, where they are doing it, who they are with, when they will be back and why they are doing whatever it is they are doing. Instilling values in them also help them avoid high-risk behaviors. Moreover, building a parent-child relationship yields impeccable results. The child can relate to the parent, communicating all their problems and seeking the parent’s advice. They do so, other than turning to high-risk behaviors with an aim of solving their issues. Helping the youth develop their competence also helps. It involves helping them learn a new skill such as playing a certain musical instrument of their choice, or instilling skills of responsibility through engaging them in house chores. (Siegel & Hartzell, 2014).
High-risk behaviors can lead to criminal activity. For example, dropping out of school leaves the youth with no education certificate which they can use to seek formal employment. Such youth thus results in doing odd jobs. Such jobs do not pay much. In the aim of acquiring more money to satisfy their needs, they may result in engaging in criminal activity. For example, they may hijack people and steal from them to increase their capital. They may also become thieves or robbers which are criminal activity. Substance and drug abuse may also lead to criminal activity. People under the influence of drugs, alcohol or other substances may engage in criminal activities with or without their knowledge. For example, they may sexually harass others and may even rape them, which is a criminal activity. They may also harm others through fights and engage in other criminal activities such as selling drugs.
References
Bond L, Thomas L, Toumbourou J, Patton G & Catalano R. (2010). Improving the lives of young
Victorians in our community: A survey of risk and protective factors. Centre for Adolescent Health: Melbourne.
Clarke S. (2010). Adolescent Risk-Taking Behaviours. Australian Doctor. 111, 1
Garcia K & Mann T. (2013). ‘I Wish’ to ‘I Will’: social cognitive predictors of behavioural intentions. Journal of Health Psychology. 8, 347-360.
Resnick M, Harris L & Blum R. (2013). The impact of caring and connectedness on adolescent health and wellbeing. Journal of Pediatric Child Health. 29, S 3 - S9.
Sanci L. (2011). Adolescent Health Care Principles. Centre for Adolescent Health. The Royal Australian College of General Practitioners: Melbourne.
Siegel DJ & Hartzell M. (2014). Parenting from the Inside Out: How a Deeper Understanding Can Help You Raise Children Who Thrive. Penguin: New York
