An Integrative Model of Adolescent Health Risk Behavior

Nursing research in adolescent health risk behavior is lacking because there are few comprehensive nursing models to guide it. Nurses need to understand what influences adolescents to engage in health risk behavior or to refrain from it. The Integrative Model of Adolescent Health Risk Behavior was developed to guide adolescent nursing research using existing theoretical and empirical data. Components include protective/escalatory factors, risk stimulus, maturity of judgment (as a meditational influence), and the risk decision (dichotomized into risk avoidance and taking). The model will facilitate development of nursing interventions to increase health protection by discouraging adolescents from making unhealthy choices.

Key words: Adolescent, Risk behavior, Adolescent decision making, Judgment, Protective factors, Risk avoidance