In adolescence, hormone production gradually increases and triggers certain behavioral and physical changes, commonly known as puberty. Physiologically, these changes impact height, weight, and sex characteristics, among other things.

Examples of Influences on Health and Risk Taking:

Families:
Adolescents often model their eating and physical activity after their family’s patterns. The messages communicated by parents also heavily influence how their children perceive their own appearance and bodies.

Schools:
Adolescents learn health skills and are encouraged to engage in physical activity and eat nutritious diets at school.

Adolescence is a period when people learn both how to understand and express their emotions in healthy ways and how to be resilient, meaning they can recover quickly in difficult situations. Social interactions in safe, supportive environments allow adolescents to practice these skills.

Examples of Influences on Health and Risk Taking:

Families:
While adolescents commonly disengage from parents during this period, young people who feel secure and protected at home and have families that support their expressions of autonomy tend to handle emotional stress better and have a greater sense of agency, confidence, and self-worth.

Peers:
Older adolescents report relying more on best friends and romantic partners than parents for emotional support. When healthy, these relationships can be protective against emotional stress.

Schools:
Adolescents often derive a sense of mutual responsibility and belonging through their schools. Schools can also identity students who may benefit from additional services, such as counseling.

As adolescents seek new experiences and pursue new interests, their social networks grow. These networks include family, friends, romantic partners, and virtual communities.

Examples of Influences on Health and Risk Taking:

Families:
Adolescents’ first social group is usually their family. During adolescence, parental relationships tend to shift from being unidirectional (i.e., parent to child) to a more bidirectional exchange, characterized by discussion and negotiation of attitudes, beliefs, and practices.

Peers:
Adolescents often learn about social norms through peers. Supportive peer relationships can be protective against unhealthy risk taking, but social isolation, peer rejection, and bullying are associated with increases in unhealthy risk taking.

Schools:
Adolescents spend most of their day in school, where they learn to relate with others and form relationships with adult role models. A student’s perception of teacher fairness and attention is a key factor in their academic motivation and engagement.

Media:
Adolescents’ use of social media has changed how they relate to one another, increased the amount of time they stay connected, and redefined the meaning of friendship. Social media can have both positive and negative effects. It can not only open doors to supportive online communities, but also normalize unhealthy risk behaviors, such as drug use.

Adolescents spend significant amounts of time in school and preparing for future intellectual pursuits such as going to college or joining the workforce. Biologically, adolescence is the stage when the regions of the brain that oversee critical decision making, abstract problem solving, and deductive reasoning develop.

Examples of Influences on Health and Risk Taking:

Families:
Adolescents tend to achieve academically when they are close to and trust their parents. In comparison to other parenting types, adolescents with authoritative parents, characterized by frequent engagement in their child’s education, achieve better academic outcomes.

Peers:
Adolescents with high-achieving friends are more likely to achieve academically, often due to a desire to share an identity with and be liked by high-achieving peers.

Media:
Adolescents today spend a large amount of time online and use media to access information about different topics and perspectives. However, misinformation spreads faster online than the truth. Young people who are still developing cognitive judgement skills are particularly vulnerable to believing misinformation.

During adolescence, people begin to shape their personal values and stances on civic and global issues. Technological and cultural changes—from smart phones to the #MeToo movement—enable today’s youth to explore more diverse perspectives than ever before.

Examples of Influences on Health and Risk Taking:

Families:
Adolescents are usually first exposed to culture and spirituality by their families. As they shape their own identity, they often become more engaged with their cultural heritage and seek out opportunities to express themselves.

Communities:
Adolescents often turn to religious organizations, community centers, and support groups to share their experiences, explore their identities, and support their peers in a communal space.