Adolescents obviously do not always act in ways that serve their own best interests, even as defined by them. Sometimes their perception of their own risks, even of survival to adulthood, is larger than the reality; in other cases, they underestimate the risks of particular actions or behaviors. It is possible, indeed likely, that some adolescents engage in risky behaviors because of a perception of invulnerability—the current conventional wisdom of adults' views of adolescent behavior. Others, however, take risks because they feel vulnerable to a point approaching hopelessness. In either case, these perceptions can prompt adolescents to make poor decisions that can put them at risk and leave them vulnerable to physical or psychological harm that may have a negative impact on their long-term health and viability.

A small planning group was formed to develop a workshop on reconceptualizing adolescent risk and vulnerability. With funding from Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Workshop on Adolescent Risk and Vulnerability: Setting Priorities took place on March 13, 2001, in Washington, DC. The workshop's goal was to put into perspective the total burden of vulnerability that adolescents face, taking advantage of the growing societal concern for adolescents, the need to set priorities for meeting adolescents' needs, and the opportunity to apply decision-making perspectives to this critical area. This report summarizes the workshop.

Contents

• THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES
• BOARD ON CHILDREN, YOUTH, AND FAMILIES
• Preface
• 1. Adolescent Risk and Vulnerability: Overview
  • INTRODUCTION
  • PAPER AND DISCUSSION SUMMARIES
  • INTEGRATIVE SUMMARY
  • CONCLUDING THOUGHTS
  • REFERENCES
• 2. Perceptions of Risk and Vulnerability
  • INTRODUCTION
  • ADOLESCENTS' PERCEPTIONS
  • THE RELATIONSHIP OF BELIEFS AND BEHAVIOR
  • RISK JUDGMENT: A DEVELOPMENTAL-ECOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
  • CONCLUSIONS AND NEXT STEPS
  • REFERENCES
• 3. Vulnerability, Risk, and Protection
  • THE ORIGINS OF VULNERABILITY
  • PROTECTIVE MECHANISMS AND VULNERABILITY
  • CONCLUSION
  • REFERENCES
• 4. Modeling the Payoffs of Interventions to Reduce Adolescent Vulnerability
  • INTRODUCTION
  • FROM VULNERABILITY FACTORS TO RISK BEHAVIORS
  • FROM HEALTH RISK PATTERNS TO OUTCOMES
  • FROM OUTCOMES TO PAYOFFS
  • HYPOTHETICAL MODELS
  • IMPLICATIONS—“WHERE TO NEXT?”
  • REFERENCES
• 5. Adolescent Vulnerability: Measurement and Priority Setting
  • INTRODUCTION
  • THE NEED FOR INDICATORS
  • STRUCTURING PRIORITIZATION
  • SOCIAL MECHANISMS FOR PRIORITY SETTING
  • DELIBERATIVE MECHANISMS FOR PRIORITY SETTING
  • CONCLUSION
  • ANNEX SETTING PRIORITIES BY WEIGHTING ATTRIBUTES
  • REFERENCES
• Appendix Workshop Materials

Suggested citation:

National Research Council and Institute of Medicine. (2001). Adolescent risk and vulnerability: Concepts amd measurement. Board on Children, Youth, and Families. Division of Behavioral and Social Sciences and Education. Baruch Fischhoff, Elena O. Nightingale, and Joah G. Iannotta, Eds. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.

NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.

The study was supported by Grant No. B7128 and B6815 between the National Academy of Sciences and the Carnegie Corporation of New York. Any opinions, findings, conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the organizations or agencies that provided support for this project.