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Why oh why do teens do the "stupid" things they do? Is it hormones? Is it inexperience? Is it too much media? Is it peer pressure? Do they just not give a rat's arse? OR is it their teen brain?

The debate and research continues about WHY we do what we do when we’re teens. From those self-centered actions that drive parents nuts to not thinking about the consequences of our actions to crashing and burning emotionally after a NON-life-ending mistake or misstep.

The Teen Brain Hard at Work—No, Really is the new cover story by Scientific America MIND (August/September 2006). After studying MRIs of some U.S. teens’ brains (among other research) some scientists argue that teens' bad decisions and risky behavior may be the result an “immature prefrontal cortex”—not just rebellion or irresponsibility. In stressful situations a teen's frontal cortex might get overloaded more easily (like when I backed into another car the first day I got my learner’s permit and froze?). One expert goes on to say that teen brains are more vulnerable and it’s more “difficult for them to show self-control.”

On the other hand, another researcher argues in this same article that teens in other countries don’t act out in the same ways as U.S. teens. American culture, more than “teen brain,” influences teens’ decisions, according to Elliot Valenstein, author of Blaming the Brain. He told the magazine: We live in a society where kids are isolated from adults, so they learn from each other. (And that, he says, can be a recipe for trouble.)

In another new study by the University College London Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, researchers also found that
the area of the brain associated with higher-level thinking, empathy, and guilt is underused by teenagers.

Rx: I know when I was a teen, it seemed like about 75% of my actions fell into the What the H was I thinking? category. I took daily (sometimes criminal) risks that would still make my mom faint if she knew what I’d been up to (even though it was more than a decade ago).

In fact, our “teen brains” inspired us to write RESPECT. We were still struggling with some WHY DID I DO THAT???? choices we’d made as teens and the aftermath for our self-respect. From relationships to personal safety to habits, health and sex, it felt like our teen brains were still running the show in some instances and definitely haunting us in others. We wanted to give girls the big-sis advice we’d never got and solid tips for how to find, keep and spread their amazing-ness.

The truth is teens make head-scratching moves and take heart-stopping risks due to many factors: teen brain, culture, role models, not having their sights set on big and small dreams, lack of support or education in any area you can name, or needing more nurturing on the self-respect front. So when it comes to learning how to make self-respecting choices, The 7 Respect Basics are a good start. Because teen-brain-time is a good time to start trusting your gut, learning to set boundaries, and analyzing mistakes for lessons (vs. letting disrespectful choices or events totally define your habits, potential and future).

MORE INFO
RESPECT Chapter 1: Your Mind

When Time did its 2004 story, Secrets of the Teen Brain, Laurence Steinberg, author of The 10 Basic Principles of Good Parenting, offered these 7 Rules for Parents.

Frontline explored the teen brain, too.

This looks interesting, but I haven’t read it yet: The Primal Teen: What the New Discoveries about the Teenage Brain Tell Us about Our Kids

Comments (0) | by Courtney on September 11

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