Özet:

Adolescence is the most intense biological and social change period in human life span. During adolescence, major changes occur both psychically and sexually. These changes effect body image, self-perception and self-esteem substantially. Identity development with cognitive growing, increase in emotional intensity, choosing a profession, relationships with opposite sex, sepa-ration from parents and becoming an individual, cause problems and conflicts in adolescents. These can also cause adolescent risk behaviours. Risk behavior such as smoking and substance abuse in adolescents, unprotected sexual relations with opposite gender are a threat to adolescent health. These risk behaviors also increase frequency and prevalence of depression, behavioral disorders, eating disorders and other psychiatric disorders. Adolescence is an important period for recognizing risk behavior, developing and applying protective ways against these risk behaviors. Individuals should be monitored during this period in order to prevent psychopathology and diseases and to support healthy development. Regular consultation and support (about stress management, anger management, communication skills, sexual health class etc.) to adolescents for their adaptation to changes, may help decrease these risk behaviors. This article aims to discusspotential ways and tools to determine adolescent risk behavior and to develop preventative ways against these risk behaviors; and evaluate the outcomes of these ways.

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