16-09-2016, 11:43 AM
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It is painfully clear that it takes repeated tragedies such as we have just witnessed in Colorado for parents, reporters, and legislators to once again ask 'WHY' did this happen and what could we have done to prevent this? Only after such senseless acts is there an interest in understanding the psychology of alienation, and hatred toward school and toward fellow human beings. Clearly, if mental health is important to our society, there needs to be increased rather than decreased access to mental health services for children in schools." - Michael Fenichel, Ph.D., President, New York State Psychological Association, School Psychology Division
Adolescent risk behavior constitutes a domain of unusual confluence of personal, social, developmental, and societal influences; thus, it should engage the interests of both social and clinical psychologists. Four major categories of risk behavior will be considered: 1) Problem behaviors, such as illicit drug use or early sexual initiation that involve transgression of legal or social norms; 2) Inadequate social role performance, such as disconnecting from or dropping out of school; 3) Health-compromising behavior, such as poor eating habits, insufficient exercise, or unprotected sexual activity; and 4) Mental health problems such as depression and anxiety. Depending on the intensity of involvement in these behaviors, all of them can compromise positive adolescent development and interfere with the successful accomplishment of age-relevant tasks. The seminar will be concerned with examining the epidemiology, the structure/organization, and the developmental course of adolescent risk behavior. It will also consider the degree to which extant social-psychological theories provide an adequate explanatory account of variation in adolescent risk behavior, including gender, ethnic, socio-economic, and cross-national variation. And it will address the degree to which current understanding of adolescent risk behavior provides a logical basis for the design of prevention/intervention programs, and which programs are, indeed, evidence-based.
There will be an emphasis on discussion in the seminar and on the sharing of research-related experience about key issues in approaching the seminar topic. Current readings will be drawn from the literature, and a book of readings will also be provided (Jessor, R. (Ed.) New Perspectives on Adolescent Risk Behavior. New York: Cambridge University Press, 1998). A class presentation and a term paper will be expected.