Citation

Le Breton D. Bull. Acad. Natl. Med. 2004; 188(8): 1313-21; discussion 1321-2.

Vernacular Title

Les conduites a risque des jeunes: des violences sur soi a celles sur les autres.

Affiliation

Sociologie a l'universite Marc Bloch de Strasbourg.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2004, Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

15918660

Abstract

Risk-taking behaviors are often an ambivalent way of calling for help from close friends or family - those who count. It is an ultimate means of finding meaning and a system of values; it is a sign of an adolescent's active resistance and attempts to re-establish his or her place in the world. It contrasts with the far more incisive risk of depression and the radical collapse of meaning. In spite of the suffering it engenders, risk-taking nevertheless has a positive side, fostering independence in adolescents and a search for reference points. It leads to a better self-image and is a means of developing one's identity. It is nonetheless painful in terms of its repercussions in terms of injuries, death or addiction. The turbulence caused by risk-taking behaviors illustrates a determination to be rid of one's suffering and to fight on so that life can, at last, be lived.