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Prevention for Teens & Young Adults

Some startling teen statistics:

• Teens are four times more likely to be involved in a motor vehicle accident and 3 times more likely to die from it than older drivers.
• Teens make up 7% of the population, but are involved in 14% of crashes.
• Teens with peers as passengers take more risks while driving.

Several factors complicate the prevention of brain injuries in teens and young adults.

Teens tend to:

• be impulsive
• engage in risk-taking behaviors
• think in black and white terms (all or nothing, love or hate something)
• believe that they are invincible (it can't happen to me)
• have mood swings (may argue and be defiant)

Teens do not think like adults:

• even though the may "think" they are using adult reasoning
• brain development is not complete - continues into young adulthood
• teens respond to emotion quickly, sometimes bypassing the thoughtful process
• teens may be "sensation-seeking" - it works well to divert this behavior to safe ways to seek sensation, such as roller-coasters
• some teens launch into risky behaviors, such as drinking, weapons, gangs, without much forethought
• social pressures for teens are different than adults - image is everything

Complications with driving safely:

• teens may still be compulsive, not thinking of consequences
• driving skills are not as well developed
• emotions are more difficult to control
• distractions, such as having friends in the car

Factors that DO NOT work with teens:

• expect them to behave like adults
• lectures with a preachy attitude (teens will tune you out)
• arguing (who is better at arguing than a teen?)

Factors that DO work:

• recognize that there are differences in teen thinking
• decrease their emotional responses
• decrease distractions
• adult models of appropriate behavior
• base "privileges" on the teen's developmental stage, rather than age
• safe driving educational programs

Programs to help teens reduce risk-taking behaviors are working.  Successful programs include DARE, driving programs, etc.

From Think First, an organization dedicated to educating people to prevent traumatic injuries and deaths:

Young people entering adolescence are particularly at-risk for traumatic injuries.  In fact, between the ages of 15 and 24, they are experimenting and exploring life with friends and often participating in risk-taking activities.  This makes them vulnerable to injury, and even death.  They believe they are invincible.  Sadly, they don't realize that life is never the same after traumatic injury.  That is why Think First  for Teens focuses on decision-making skills.

Think First offers an hour-long assembly to schools, tailored to the age of the students attending.  One of the highlights of the assembly is a realistic and candid discussion with a speaker who has suffered a brain or spinal cord injury.  This moving program captivates students and empowers them to Think First and weigh the consequences of risk-taking behavior.

Much of this content was derived from Joy Miceli, PhD's presentation on How Do Teens Really Think.  Her presentation at the Ohio Lifesavers Conference, May 3, 2005, provided a lot of useful insights into adolescent mental processing and behaviors.

* Development of this section of our website was made possible through a grant from the Ohio Department of Public Safety / EMS Division.