Young, wild and free? The social and cultural context of adolescent risk behavior

Adolescence, the transitional phase between childhood and adulthood, is a unique period of discovery and experimentation. It is a complex, but exciting phase of life in which young people gradually develop into adults. While desiring more autonomy and freedom to make their own decisions, adolescents typically distance themselves from their parents and start spending more time with peers, for example in school, while playing sports, or during leisure activities at night in bars and pubs. In the course of this process, many adolescents start experimenting with tobacco, alcohol, and cannabis use as well as sexual behaviors. The aim of this thesis is to increase our understanding of the social and cultural context of substance use and sexual behaviors among 11 to 16 year old adolescents in Europe andNorth America. Specifically, it addresses the roles of educational track and parenting practices (micro-system), national wealth and cultural norms (macro-system), and changes of these influences across time (chrono-system). By addressing factors at different “layers” of the environment, and their interactions, this thesis demonstrates that adolescent substance use and sexual behavior are predicted by a complex interplay of social and cultural factors. Specifically, it shows that: (1) At the micro-level, educational track is a strong predictor of adolescent substance use and sexual activity, with vocational students engaging in these behaviors more frequently compared to academic students. The relatively early timing of the transition to adulthood for vocational students may (at least partly) explain this effect. (2) Independent of educational track, parents play an important role in regards to their children’s substance use and sexual behaviour. By setting restrictive rules and by communicating with their children about these behaviors in a constructive manner, they may protect them against the risks that are involved in engagement in these behaviors. (3) At the macro-level, cultural norms on the acceptability of adolescent sexual activity appear to have an effect on adolescent sexual initiation. Girls in Europe are less likely to be sexually active before the age 15 if they live in countries with conservative age norms (e.g., Ukraine) compared to countries with more liberal norms (e.g., Austria). Notably, this association does not exist for boys. With respect to adolescent substance use, adolescents living in wealthy countries are generally more likely to use substances compared to adolescents in less wealthy countries. Yet, between 2002 and 2010 this effect of high national wealth has decreased, resulting in smaller prevalence differences between adolescents living in wealthy and less wealthy countries and sometimes even in higher prevalence rates among adolescents living in less wealthy countries. (4) Although prevalence rates of adolescent substance use and sexual behavior differ considerably across countries, their co-occurrence rates as well as their psychosocial and health correlates show strong similarities across countries. The findings of this thesis have implications for future research, policy, and prevention programs targeting adolescents, parents, and school