Interest in the role that decision making plays in adolescents' involvement in high-risk behaviors led the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Planning and Evaluation of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to request the Board on Children, Youth, and Families to convene a workshop on adolescent decision making. The Board on Children, Youth, and Families is a joint activity of the National Research Council (NRC) and the Institute of Medicine. A workshop was held on January 6-7, 1998, to examine what is known about adolescents' decision-making skills and the implications of that knowledge for programs to further their healthy development.

The contributors reveal new findings about the basic mechanisms underlying brain development, with particular reference to mathematical reasoning as well as to decision-making in a variety of situations.

In recent years there have been tremendous advances in understanding how brain development underlies behavioural changes in adolescence. Based on the latest discoveries in the research field, Eveline A. Crone examines changes in learning, emotions, face processing and social relationships in relation to brain maturation, across the fascinating period of adolescent development. This book covers new insights from brain research that help us to understand what happens when children turn into adolescents and then into young adults. Why do they show increases in sensation-seeking, risk-taking and sensitivity to opinions of friends? With the arrival of neuroimaging techniques, it is now possible to unravel what goes on in an individual’s brain when completing cognitive tasks, when playing computer games, or when engaging in online social interactions. These findings help reveal how children learn, control thoughts and actions, plan activities, control emotions and think about intentions of others, offering a new perspective on behaviour and motivations of adolescents. This is the first comprehensive book to cover the many domains of adolescent brain development, stretching from cognitive to affective to social development. It is valuable reading for students and researchers in the field of adolescent development and developmental cognitive neuroscience and those interested in how the developing brain affects behaviour in the teenage years.

This volume offers a theoretical and practical overview of the ethics of pediatric medicine. It serves as a fundamental handbook and resource for pediatricians, nurses, residents in training, graduate students, and practitioners of ethics and healthcare policy. Written by a team of leading experts, Pediatric Bioethics addresses those difficult ethical questions concerning the clinical and academic practice of pediatrics, including an approach to recognizing boundaries when confronted with issues such as end of life care, life-sustaining treatment, extreme prematurity, pharmacotherapy, and research. Thorny topics such as what constitutes best interests, personhood, or distributive justice and public health concerns such as immunization and newborn genetic screening are also addressed.

Adolescence is a time when youth make decisions, both good and bad, that have consequences for the rest of their lives. Some of these decisions put them at risk of lifelong health problems, injury, or death. The Institute of Medicine held three public workshops between 2008 and 2009 to provide a venue for researchers, health care providers, and community leaders to discuss strategies to improve adolescent health.

Adolescenceâ€"beginning with the onset of puberty and ending in the mid-20sâ€"is a critical period of development during which key areas of the brain mature and develop. These changes in brain structure, function, and connectivity mark adolescence as a period of opportunity to discover new vistas, to form relationships with peers and adults, and to explore one's developing identity. It is also a period of resilience that can ameliorate childhood setbacks and set the stage for a thriving trajectory over the life course. Because adolescents comprise nearly one-fourth of the entire U.S. population, the nation needs policies and practices that will better leverage these developmental opportunities to harness the promise of adolescenceâ€"rather than focusing myopically on containing its risks. This report examines the neurobiological and socio-behavioral science of adolescent development and outlines how this knowledge can be applied, both to promote adolescent well-being, resilience, and development, and to rectify structural barriers and inequalities in opportunity, enabling all adolescents to flourish.

This comprehensive reference delves into the complex process of medical decision making—both the nuts-and-bolts access and insurance issues that guide choices and the cognitive and affective factors that can make patients decide against their best interests. Wide-ranging coverage offers a robust evidence base for understanding decision making across the lifespan, among family members, in the context of evolving healthcare systems, and in the face of life-changing diagnosis. The section on applied decision making reviews the effectiveness of decision-making tools in healthcare, featuring real-world examples and guidelines for tailored communications with patients. Throughout, contributors spotlight the practical importance of the field and the pressing need to strengthen health decision-making skills on both sides of the clinician/client dyad. Among the Handbook’s topics: From laboratory to clinic and back: connecting neuroeconomic and clinical mea sures of decision-making dysfunctions. Strategies to promote the maintenance of behavior change: moving from theoretical principles to practices. Shared decision making and the patient-provider relationship. Overcoming the many pitfalls of communicating risk. Evidence-based medicine and decision-making policy. The internet, social media, and health decision making. The Handbook of Health Decision Science will interest a wide span of professionals, among them health and clinical psychologists, behavioral researchers, health policymakers, and sociologists.