1. THE TEENAGE BRAIN AND HIGH-RISK
BEHAVIOR
Or why do I sometimes do crazy things
Stephen L. Londino BA, CDP
2. Adolescence is a critical time to
learn new skills.
Communication skills
Enhancing social skills
Finding and developing relationships
Learning life lessons to help become a healthy
individual and productive member of society.
To answer the question “Where do I fit in?”.
3. In this presentation we are going to talk about how the
teen brain affects high-risk behavior including:
How the teenage brain works
Peer influence in behavior
What are some high-risk behaviors
11. Peer Influences
Peer groups provide:
Provide a place and source to exchange information
and compare information.
Provide positive or negative feedback about their
abilities and identity.
Determine what is right and wrong, what’s “in”
12. 3 Highly Popular Peer Activities
Participation in sports activities
13. 3 Highly Popular Peer Activities
Participation in sports activities
Hanging out and going to parties
14. 3 Highly Popular Peer Activities
Participation in sports activities
Hanging out and going to parties
Participation in adult supervised and/or organized
leisure, promoted by social youth clubs
15. High Risk Behaviors
Sexual activity
Using Alcohol and Drugs
Getting into car with someone intoxicated
Driving with friends in the car(Reckless driving)
Involvement in illegal activities
Impulsive behavior
18. High Risk Behaviors
Sexual activity
Using Alcohol and Drugs
Getting into car with someone intoxicated
19. High Risk Behaviors
Sexual activity
Using Alcohol and Drugs
Getting into car with someone intoxicated
Driving with friends in the car(Reckless driving)
20. High Risk Behaviors
Sexual activity
Using Alcohol and Drugs
Getting into car with someone intoxicated
Driving with friends in the car(Reckless driving)
Involvement in illegal activities
21. High Risk Behaviors
Sexual activity
Using Alcohol and Drugs
Getting into car with someone intoxicated
Driving with friends in the car(Reckless driving)
Involvement in illegal activities
Impulsive behavior
22. So what is driving these behaviors.
Many studies point to a combination of the role of peer
influence and lack of full brain functionality-primarily the
prefrontal cortex.
One study found that teens that participation in sports
activities and adult supervised social clubs have lower
incidence of alcohol/drug use and delinquent behavior
(Thorlindsson and Burnburg, 2006).
23. Don’t do drugs
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwK350eA4AA&fe
ature=related
24. REFERENCES
Gardner, M., & Steinberg, L. (2005). Peer influence on risk-taking, risk preference,
and risky decision making in adolescence and adulthood: An experimental
study. Developmental Psychology, 41(4), 625–635. Retrieved December 8, 2006, from
the PsycARTICLES database. (AN dev-41-4-625)
Santrock, J. W. (2009). A topical approach to life-span development (custom ed.).
New York: McGraw-Hill.
Thorlindsson, T., & Bernburg, J. G. (2006). Peer groups and substance use:
Examining the direct and interactive effect of leisure activity. Adolescence, 41(162),
321–339. Retrieved December 8, 2006, from the Academic Search Premier database.
(AN 22251598)
Alberts, Bray, Hopkin, Johnson, Lewis, Raff, Roberts, & Walter Essential Cell
Biology, 3rd Edition, ISBN: 978-0-8153-4129- retrieved from
1http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChpYCDiX348&feature=player_detailpage
Editor's Notes
Today we are going to talk about why teens do things that as adults we look at as crazy. How many of you have done something and your parents looked at you like you were crazy? How many of you have done something and when your parents asked you why you did that, you could not give them an answer? Or said you did not know? How many of you have done something that you later look back and think, What was I thinking.
Adolescence is a critical time for teens to learn new skills. Skills such as communication skills, enhancing social skills, finding and developing relationships, and learning life lessons to help the teen become a healthy individual and productive member of society. This is the time to learn about oneself and answer the question “Where do I fit in?”. This is also the time when life seems chaotic and out of control. Such things as peer influence, battles with parents for independence are all swirling around. In addition, social relationships come and go, We are going to talk about how the teenage brain is different than an adults brain and answer the question “why did you do … such and such.
In this presentation we are going to talk about how the teen brain affects high-risk behavior including: How the teenage brain works, How Peer influence affects behavior, and what are some high-risk behaviorsThe first stop is the brain.
How many of you have ever been at the store and purchase something on impulse and then got home and realized that he really didn’t want it or you really didn’t need it?How many of you have done homework and when the teacher is asked to have it passed in you forget?This is the time that parents ask a question ” is my crazy?”.Impulsivity and forgetting things are all part of the teen brain development. Today, we are going to talk about the development in the frontal lobe where the prefrontal cortex is located, the occipital lobe and the cerebellum where information is taken in and processed, and the temporal lobe were the limbic system, or reward center, is located
Frontal Lobe-located in the frontal lobe is the prefrontal cortex, or executive part of the brain, this area is responsible for executive functioning, which include mediating conflicting thoughts, making choices between right and wrong or good and bad, predicting future events, and governing social control — such as suppressing emotional or sexual urges. This is the part of the brain that weighs the information from the occipital lobe/cerebellum and gives the go ahead or stops the action. In the adolescent brain, the prefrontal cortex is not fully developed until about age 25, and the prefrontal cortex and occipital lobe/cerebellum are not in sync. This means when information is sent by the occipital lobe/cerebellum, “lets act on this information”, and before a decision is made from the prefrontal cortex, the body responds and acts. Sometimes with unexpected results. This is called impulsivity.
Occipital Lobe and Cerebellum – TheOccipital lobe is the part of the brain that takes in sensory information, and along with the cerebellum located under and connected to the brain stem, interprets information received from the senses. Once the information is interpreted, it is sent to the prefrontal cortex where the information is processed and a decision is made to do something. The cerebellum and occipital load are the part of the brain that says “hey, we have this information lets act”. The prefrontal cortex says “yes that is a good idea lets proceed”, or “that’s not a good idea so stop”.
Temporal Lobe – The temporal lobe is where the limbic system, or reward center, is located. This area of the brain is responsible for controlling emotions and emotional responses, mood, motivation, and pain and pleasure sensations. When we do something, dopamine, a neurotransmitter, is released and we either get a pleasurable response or a negative response. The pleasurable feeling makes us want to repeat the behavior so we get the pleasurable feeling again. If we get a negative feeling, we tend to not repeat the behavior to avoid the negative feeling.
When a person is born, the brain contains hundreds of billions of neurons, or nerve cells, and neural-pathways. As the person grows through childhood, the brain becomes more efficient by pruning, or cutting back, some of the neurons. During adolescents the teen brain goes through significant changes to make it even more efficient. The pruning of unused or unneeded neural pathways continues. This is why learning at this stage of development is so important. As a person learns information, neurons are used and pathways are established. Also occurring at this time is myelination - the production myelin, a fatty substance that is used to insulate the neuron and make the passing of electrical impulses along the neural pathway more efficient. This is similar to insulation on a copper wire. Think of the neuron as a copper wire. If we run electricity through it, the electricity goes everywhere along the wire. A small fraction of the electricity reaches the end. With a plastic coating of insulation on the wire, very little electricity escapes. Therefore, it does not take as much electricity.
Dopamine is a neurotransmitter that is released when we feel pleasure. It is located in the reward center or Limbic System and controls emotions. The release of dopamine is what makes us want to do certain behaviors over and over. In adolescence, the teenage brain is over-active with dopamine. Many risky behaviors stimulate the limbic system to release dopamine. Some researchers have suggested that this encourages the individual to try out new things. For example, riding on a rollercoaster causes a release of dopamine causing us to want to ride again to get the same feeling.
When something happens such as eat something tasty or see something interesting, a signal is sent along the neural pathway. At each junction there is a space called the synapse. In order for the signal to proceed, a chemical, neurotransmitter, is released and attaches to the next neuron. The signal then proceeds up the neural pathway to the brain.Let’s watch a clip on how the neurotransmitter process works. Right click link and click open hyperlink
Peers are made up of other teens of about the same age and maturity, who group together as friends and acquaintances. Peer relations are a major factor in how teens make decisions. Since teens hang out more with peers than with family, peer groups provide a place and source where information is exchanged and compared about the adult world outside of the family (Santrock, 2009. p. 606). Santrock (2009), explained peer groups as providing both positive or negative feedback about the teens abilities and identity (2009), by judging styles of clothing, what’s cool and not cool, what activities or behaviors are acceptable or not acceptable, and what is right or wrong. During adolescence
In the search for fun, excitement and opportunity of finding out about ones self, teens participate in 3 highly popular peer activities that offer alternative ways of forming and organizing peer groups. Participation in sports activities, hanging out and going to parties, and participation in adult supervised and/or organized activities. Participation in sports activities provides different values, norms and rituals and practices that shape the behavior of its participants (Thorlindsson and Burnburg, 2006). Values such as team work, fair play, positive self-esteem, self-discipline, loyalty, support and friendship are developed.
Hanging out and going to parties. The second peer activities are hanging out and going to parties. The values it teaches are idleness, disdain for school and hard work. It promotes excitement, adventure and thrills by encouraging risky behaviors such as the use of mood-altering substance, delinquent behavior, and risk taking (Thorlindsson and Burnburg, 2006). This is done by peer pressure either consciously or subconsciously. The teen wants to fit in to the group and conforms to the group values and beliefs. For example, when teens are together at a party where alcohol and drugs are provided, teens trying to fit into the group, may feel that they need to drink or use drugs in order to belong. As the joint is passed around the circle, and passes the teen a few times, the feeling may be that others are looking at me and expecting me to participate.
Participation in adult supervised and or organize leisure activities providesteens a place to hang out with each other, socialize, and have fun in a supervisedEnvironment without alcohol and drugs (Thorlindsson and Burnburg, 2006). Places such as Boys and Girls Club’s, community centers and the YMCA offer teens a place to go where they know that they can have fun with friends and also be exposed to a positive atmosphere. However, teens may feel that they cannot act without adults judging them. Many teens may stay away from these places because they may feel controlled.
Because of peer pressure and conformity teens may get caught up in high risk behaviors. Some of the high-risk behaviors that teens get caught up in include Sexual Activity - having unprotected sex resulting in pregnancy or sexually transmitted disease. Additionally, sexual assault after drinking or using mind altering substances is also common. Using Alcohol and Drugs-getting involved with substances resulting in school related problems, abuse, addiction, legal consequences, getting into fights, medical consequences' and overdose. Getting into a car with someone who has been drugging or drinking- leading to possible injury and death due to accidents, and legal consequences. Driving with friends in the car and reckless driving – Having friends cause distractions which can lead to accidents causing injury and death, legal consequences, and property damage. Involvement in illegal activities - Getting into fights, legal issues, and gang involvement. Impulsive behavior – shoplifting or other spur of the moment delinquent behavior, wanting immediate gratification regardless of others feeling. So what is driving this behavior. Many studies point to a combination of the role of peer influence and lack of full brain functionality-primarily the prefrontal cortex. One study found that teens that participation in sports activities and adult supervised social clubs have lower incidence of alcohol/drug use and delinquent behavior (Thorlindsson and Burnburg, 2006). Until there is a way for adults to look at and not make instant judgments, and recognize that adolescence are individuals and not made up of one group of teens; teens will continue to engage in adolescent behavior, which is encouraged by the peer groups, high risk activities.
Sexual Activity - having unprotected sex resulting in pregnancy or sexually transmitted disease. Additionally, sexual assault after drinking or using mind altering substances is also common.
Using Alcohol and Drugs-getting involved with substances resulting in school related problems, abuse, addiction, legal consequences, getting into fights, medical consequences' and overdose.
Getting into a car with someone who has been drugging or drinking- leading to possible injury and death due to accidents, and legal consequences.
Getting into a car with someone who has been drugging or drinking- leading to possible injury and death due to accidents, and legal consequences.
Involvement in illegal activities - Getting into fights, legal issues, and gang involvement.
Impulsive behavior – shoplifting or other spur of the moment delinquent behavior, wanting immediate gratification regardless of others feeling. So what is driving this behavior. Many studies point to a combination of the role of peer influence and lack of full brain functionality-primarily the prefrontal cortex. One study found that teens that participation in sports activities and adult supervised social clubs have lower incidence of alcohol/drug use and delinquent behavior (Thorlindsson and Burnburg, 2006).
So what is driving this behavior. Many studies point to a combination of the role of peer influence and lack of full brain functionality-primarily the prefrontal cortex. One study found that teens that participation in sports activities and adult supervised social clubs have lower incidence of alcohol/drug use and delinquent behavior (Thorlindsson and Burnburg, 2006).
