More frequently than adults, adolescents engage in risky behaviors. These can include driving fast, taking a dangerous variety of drugs, acts of self-mutilation, and having unprotected sex, sex with strangers or sex with multiple partners.
Parents and loved ones can view the teenager who responds to life in this way as expressing rebellion, a wild energy or foolish short-sightedness. Reckless teen sexuality however is rarely seen by authorities in the adolescent's life as expressive of depression, suicidal feelings or despair.
Sex and the Teenage Brain
Many studies have suggested that the adolescent brain isn't fully developed yet in the area of understanding long-term consequences. Researchers have posited that the frontal lobe, a part of the brain that allows for a comprehension of the future, doesn't complete its development until late adolescence or early adulthood. However, the truth is more complicated.
Every individual is a combination of multiple influences, from biological to cultural. Some adults continue to engage in risk-taking behaviors into their thirties and beyond. Other factors than brain development are likely to be at stake when a teen participates in threatening sexual activities.
Sex and Teenage Beliefs about the World
Adolescents are commonly viewed as beings who think they are immortal and thus, invulnerable to harm. This is a typical perception of why teenagers take part in risky activities. In contrast, many adolescents engage in unprotected sex, among other potentially harmful acts, because they feel a sense of doom and think they're likely to die at a young age anyway according to the June 30, 2009 Time.com article, "Why Do Some Teens Behave Recklessly?", by Tiffany Sharples.
Perhaps because they don't yet have the ability to think in long term modes, teens find the notion of living even into their thirties an unlikely prospect. If they are poor or live in violent circumstances, they are even more prone to envisioning an early death and therefore to not making any particular effort to preserve themselves for a healthy older age.
Sex and Depression in Teens
Adolescents who engage in risky sexual behaviors, from not using birth control and condoms to having sex while inebriated or drugged, may be severely depressed. Their recklessness could be a cry for attention. Unfortunately, too often sexually active teenagers are shunned by their loved ones who feel helpless or disgusted by their behaviors.
Reckless sex can emerge from depression and can also create a depressive environment. The adolescent, particularly if female, can feel used in the aftermath of their sexual recklessness. Such feelings, instead of leading to the desire not to act in such a way again, can lead to the behavior continuing or escalating.
If one notices such behavior in one's adolescents, it is important not to judge. Instead, consider these teenagers' brains, their beliefs and their mental stability. Love them back into a place where they can love themselves sufficiently to steer clear of self-destructive patterns of sexuality.
Reference: Institute for Mental Health Fact Sheet.
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