Mom•Logic on Good Morning America
This morning, GMA shared our alarming "Spring Break Confessions" with the nation.
This morning, pediatrician and Mom•Logic contributor Dr. Cara Natterson appeared on Good Morning America to share our shocking findings with parents everywhere.
Why are teens so reckless, especially on spring break? Dr. Natterson says, contrary to popular belief, there is actually a medical reason. Here's why, in her own words:
"Increasingly through the teenage years, there emerges a perfect storm. The combination of hormones driving physical and sexual development, independence in the form of driver's licenses and money (whether from allowance or after-school jobs), and social norms that include raucous parties has often been blamed for out-of-control teenagers--the modern day "sex, drugs, and rock 'n roll." But it turns out that the biggest influence of all may be the development of the human brain. Most teenagers and even young adults into their early 20s lack the ability to make consistently mature decisions. It's a matter of brain chemistry.
For the better part of the past two decades, studies have been ongoing at several institutions, among them the National Institute of Mental Health. A lead researcher at NIMH, Dr. Jay Giedd, has used MRI scans to demonstrate that, when compared to an adult brain, the teen brain uses radically different pathways to make decisions. The frontal lobe of the brain is often referred to as the C.E.O. because it is responsible for making executive decisions--for weighing the importance of different pieces of information and then choosing what to do. But for many, the frontal lobe does not fully mature until the early 20s. So teens typically make decisions using not the frontal lobe, but rather areas of the brain that rule arousal, fear, and general emotional state.
How does this brain chemistry affect teenage behavior? Take the decision to have sex. A mature adult will make that decision using, among other things, the frontal lobe. She can consider any number of pieces of information--how well she knows her partner, whether she has adequate birth control and protection from STDs, and so on--and make a decision about whether or not to have sex accordingly. A typical teen, however, lacks the ability to prioritize the longer-term consequences over the immediate gratification. A teenager's decision about sex is ruled much more by how it will feel.
Of course, this is not to say that teenagers cannot consider consequences. Even a 2-year-old child can invoke consequential thinking: "If I touch that hot stove, I may get burned, so I am not going to touch it." The point here is that the drive to make a decision as an adolescent or young adult is ruled much more by the in-the-moment sensation. If a teen took the time to consider all of the issues at hand in a given circumstance, he or she may make a different decision.
There is also a group phenomenon that occurs among teens. A teenager may sit with his parents at the dinner table and promise not to have sex or do drugs. And he may mean every word he says. But the power of the drive to seek sensation in the teen brain makes this decision very difficulty in a group setting. When teens are gathered in groups, they are motivated by what surrounds them. A kid who meant it when he told his parents he wouldn't do something gets caught up in the moment and, literally, cannot help himself.
Finally, once a teenager makes a bad decision, other bad decisions often follow. For instance, when a person drinks alcohol, the alcohol has a disinhibiting effect--it makes you more likely to do something that you wouldn't otherwise do sober. A teenager who is drinking is more likely to make the choice to have sex than one who is not. An intoxicated driver is more likely to get into an accident. One bad decision begets another.
Teenagers are, by definition, caught in a paradox. We want them to behave responsibly and maturely, but our social expectations do not always meet their physiologic abilities. Remember that your teenager may be adult-sized, but his or her brain has not reached adult maturity. Yes, hormones play a part, as do peer pressure and freedom. But on some level, a teenager is simply not able to weigh the consequences of his behavior and consistently make the right decision. Sure, there are some 15- or 16-year-olds who can do this, but for the majority, it doesn't happen until the early 20s."
 | Dr. Cara Natterson, a graduate of Harvard University, is a pediatrician and the author of the Head to Toe book series. She is a mother of two. |
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