NCJ Number
213846
Journal
Journal of Adolescence Volume: 29 Issue: 2 Dated: April 2006 Pages: 261-272
Date Published
April 2006
Length
12 pages
Annotation
This study used a qualitative research method to identify adolescents’ perception of risk and the factors that influence their decisions about engaging in risky behaviors.
Abstract
Results revealed that adolescents perceived of risk as something where the outcome was uncontrollable. In contrast to previous research, this study found no evidence that adolescent engagement in risky behavior was a result of a perception of personal invulnerability. Adolescents in this sample considered themselves well-informed about health risks and able to successfully manage their decisions about whether to engage in risky behaviors. However, some participants cited occasions when they were unable to decide for themselves about engaging in certain risky behaviors for fear of being rejected. The findings suggest that intervention strategies should take into account the complexity of the decisionmaking process for adolescents and teach them how to assertively communicate their reasons for not engaging in risky behaviors. Participants were 8 male and 16 female students over the age of 16 years who volunteered to take part in 1-hour, single-sex focus groups comprised of 4 students. Discussions focused on the key risks and challenges the participants anticipated encountering over the next year. The resulting transcripts were coded into categories that were determined by the hypotheses and were analyzed qualitatively. Future studies should include an adult sample and should consider the use of focus group discussions. References