9. Application: Strategies to reduce risk-taking behaviours

10. Useful applications
We know now many reasons why adolescents are more prone to risk-taking behaviour that could potentially be dangerous in the worst examples.
Providing adolescents who are most likely to give in to risky behaviour with good education and social support will help them control their ventral striatum.
Parents can talk to their children about the consequences of risk-taking behaviour and reduce risks for them (e.g. offering lifts in dangerous-to-drive roads).
Positive social networks (good friends, school and community) can also help reduce risky behaviour.
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11. Examples of applications
One of the causes of risky behaviour is when a pregnant mother who suffers a large amount of stress has too much cortisol in her blood when giving birth to her baby. This stress is often due to a stressful environment around her (poor income, bad neighbourhood, etc.).
Olds et al. (1998) carried out a programme that involved nurses visiting mothers before birth and providing training on how to cope with stressful situations. Results of this showed the children born at this time were more successful at school and showed lower rates of bad behaviour (possibly a reduction in risk-taking behaviour).
Another strategy used to help adolescents was an age-appropriate learning curriculum which was adopted to educate teenagers about how to drive safely.
New drivers were given a probationary period where their driving was restricted in certain ways (e.g. not being able to drive at night). This slow introduction to driving lowered the amount of new experiences to beginner drivers, therefore reducing the risk of starting driving than someone who could immediately drive with no restrictions.
The programme saw a significant reduction in the crashes of adolescent drivers after about six months (McCartt et al. 2003).
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