Taken by itself, this evidence can be quite frightening but it’s actually a “good news, bad news” scenario. The researchers who reported these findings say that this imbalance between impulse and behavior control during adolescence makes sense; adolescence is the stage of life when people try to figure out who they are, explore new opportunities and venture out of the “nest”, all of which involve some degree of risk. Without this imbalance between the two systems, an adolescent might not have the motivation to take those age-appropriate, developmentally necessary risks.

The challenge becomes how to channel thrill-seeking into constructive avenues while insuring teens understand potential dangers of acting on those impulses. One exercise to help teens learn to distinguish between positive and negative risk was developed by Andrew Halper at the University of Minnesota. It requires teenagers to assign risks on three levels: all-good, good-or-bad and all-bad. Parents may need to offer some examples but teens are to list risks in each category. They then look at the “all-good” list—trying out for the school play or asking someone out on a date—and consider which they might implement in their own lives. Next they explore the “good-or-bad” category, identifying which might enhance their lives, like learning a new skill and which could jeopardize their well-being, such as hanging out with kids with bad reputations. Finally, the teenagers look at the “all-bad” risks, including drinking and taking drugs, and determine which might be particularly alluring to them and what steps they could take to resist these. Role-playing with a parent taking the part of a persuasive peer can help teens develop and strengthen their resistance but parents are advised to use examples that have relevance for their teenagers.