Risky behavior is defined according to Trimpop (1994) as “any consciously, or non-consciously controlled behavior with a perceived uncertainty about its outcome, and/or about its possible benefits, or costs for the physical, economic or psycho-social well-being of oneself or others.” In other words, risky behavior and situations are not “accidents” because you have control over your own behavior, and you can avoid unsafe situations. Risky behavior affects your personal safety and has a negative impact on your lifestyle choices.
It is important for teenagers to know about risky behaviors as well as their harmful consequences so that they can avoid taking part in it.
If teenagers have knowledge about risky behavior, they will be able to teach others about it as well. They will also have the knowledge to get themselves and help others to get out of risky situations.
Definition
Personal safety refers to both physical and psychological safety. Physical safety deals with freedom from harm whereas psychological safety involves freedom from worry about physical safety as well as being victimized by hostility, aggression, and harassment.
Examples include:
Giving out information about yourself on social media.
Giving out your passwords, personal information such as your real name, where you live, your parents’ names, telephone number or where you go to school.
Arranging to meet online contacts and walking home late at night in dangerous areas.
The negative impact that it has on your lifestyle choices:
Your physical safety could be affected, and you can become emotionally frightened and psychologically scarred.
You can get raped or attacked, become ill and physically and emotionally damaged.
Definition:
Substance abuse can be defined as a pattern of repeated drug or alcohol use that often interferes with health, work or social relationships.
Examples include:
The negative impact that it has on your lifestyle choices:
Different drugs can have different effects. Some effects of drugs include health consequences that are long-lasting and permanent. The teenage brain is not completely developed and therefore the use of harmful substances has a more serious effect on young people. If you are caught using, selling or in the possession of drugs, you may end up in prison with a criminal record.
Side effects include:
A weakened immune system, increasing the risk of illness and infection
Heart conditions ranging from abnormal heart rates to heart attacks and collapsed veins and blood vessel infections from injected drugs
Nausea and abdominal pain, which can also lead to changes in appetite and weight loss
Lung disease
Problems with memory, attention and decision-making, which make daily living more difficult
Definition:
Teenage suicide is when a teenager causes his or her own death on purpose. Before trying to take their own life, the teenager may have thoughts of wanting to die. The teenagers may have suicidal behavior, and this is when he/she is focused on doing things that cause his/her own death.
Examples include:
The negative impact that it has on your lifestyle choices:
Some suicide attempts are unsuccessful, so some teenagers end up blind, paralyzed or get brain damaged due to a lack of oxygen.
If the suicide is successful the emotional and psychological effects on the people (family and friends) left behind is horrible.
Suicide is also against the rules of some religions.
Warning signs include:
Definition
Peer pressure is defined as a feeling that one must do the same things as other people of one’s age and social group in order to be liked or respected by them.
Examples include:
Peer pressure easily leads to risky behavior and situations such as smoking, drinking alcohol (substance abuse), bunking classes as well as school, stealing, violent behavior and careless driving.
The negative impact that it has on your lifestyle choices:
When someone gives into peer pressure, they can find themselves in risky situations and end up hurting themselves. Teens are distracted from schoolwork and distance themselves from family and existing friends it also leads to a drastic change in behavior. When you give into peer pressure you aren’t true to yourself and you could become a criminal, become frightened and feel unhappy.
Definition
A teenage pregnancy, as defined by the American Pregnancy Association, is a pregnancy that occurs for a woman under the age of 20. Although technically not a teenager, a young woman 12 or under who is pregnant falls into this definition of teenage pregnancy as well.
Examples include:
Teenage pregnancy planned or unplanned.
The negative impact that it has on your lifestyle choices:
Your baby is now (or should be) the most important person in your life and you need to look after this baby.
When you fall pregnant you will need to make a decision to keep the baby or to get an abortion. If you choose to get an abortion the psychological and emotional effects may be a heavy burden that will bother you for the rest of your life.
If you decide to keep the baby it is important to note that it is expensive to raise a child. You may need to drop out of school and get a job in order to be able to afford having a baby.
You can no longer go out and have fun with your friends.
It is difficult to follow career goals.
It can affect or damage your body.
Causes of risky behavior
Since the act of sharing personal information on social media puts your personal safety at risk it is important to know what causes people (teenagers mostly) to post personal information on social media.
Sharing personal information often triggers positive responses and enjoyment. The positive feedback results in repeated behavior and increases the desire to keep doing so. This means that personal safety will continue to be put at risk.
There are many reasons why people may get into fights. It may be caused by light reasons such as arguments or by more serious reasons such as the death of a family member. The one thing that all the reasons share is anger. Anger can make almost anyone do something harmful towards another person if the person that is angry is enraged enough. The point is that getting into a fight or being physically bullied causes your personal physical safety to be put at risk as you will not be free from being harmed.
Most teenagers do not have their own transportation method and are dependent on their parents to get places. Sometimes parents refuse or are unable to “satisfy” teenagers transportation needs, or teenagers may sneak out of their home to go somewhere. This often leads to walking alone at night. Walking alone at night can be a very dangerous activity especially if you are not aware of your surroundings. It raises your risk for unsafe behavior. You can get mugged, assaulted, injured, or even put in an uncomfortable situation such as catcalling. Worst case scenario, you can even get murdered.
Peers largely influence each other to take part in drug-abusive behavior. Many teens may use drugs to fit in with their peers and to impress others. Teenagers do not want to be seen as “uncool” or to be looked down on so they will often do anything to be accepted even if this means making use of drugs.
If a teenager grows up in a household where it is common for the other members of the family to make use of drugs the teenager will think that the use of drugs is acceptable. When an adolescent sees his/ her family members using drugs/substances to cope with problems, the teen is likely to do the same. Excessive use of drugs will lead to a substance abuse problem.
Teenagers face a lot of stress. When a teen doesn’t know how to handle or cope with the stress, they make use of drugs. Teenagers may also make use of drugs to help relive the stress or anxiety that they are facing and to “escape” reality.
Feelings such as hopelessness, helpless, pain, rejection, hurt, being unloved, victimization or loss may lead to teens wanting to commit suicide. Teens may feel like their feelings are too overwhelming to bear and that the feelings will never end. Most suicidal teens feel like they are in situations in which they have no control and have no solutions. To them, the only way out is death.
Environmental situations often drive the emotional causes of suicide. Bullying, cyberbullying, abuse, a destructive home environment, the loss of a love family member or friend or even a breakup can contribute to suicidal teenagers.
Most teenagers who attempt suicide have mental illnesses such as depression, bipolar disorder or borderline personality disorder. These illnesses magnify the feelings of sadness, loneliness, pain etcetera, that the teenagers may feel. This will boost the desire of the teenager to commit suicide.
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