Risk behavior in adolescence: A psychosocial framework for understanding and action*1

A social-psychological framework for the explanation of adolescent risk behavior is presented. The framework incorporates attention to both person and situational variables, and it differentiates both sets of variables into risk factors and protective factors. Risk is then considered to be a resultant reflecting the balance of risk and protection. The framework makes clear that being “at risk” for onsetting or initiating risk behaviors is an earlier developmental stage than being “at risk” for the compromising health- and life-outcomes of actually engaging in risk behaviors. The person-situation interactionist perspective that informs the framework provides an alternative to the formulation presented byArnett (1992) to account for “reckless” behavior in adolescence.