(1) Offer thought-provoking, yet specific prompts to continue discussion. |
(2) Highlight adolescents’ personal strengths. |
(3) Praise self-awareness and when applicable, ask for additional information about thoughts and feelings that drive decision-making and behavior. |
(4) Provide motivation (explicit rationales for engagement in health protective behavior) and cognitive-behavioral skills (explicit strategies to engage in health protective behavior) whenever possible. |
(5) Reframe and challenge risk-promoting statements – try to acknowledge or validate the essence of what has been said so that adolescents will be open to ‘hearing’ a caution against risk. |
(6) Empathize with stressors (acknowledge difficulty) and when applicable, provide cognitive-behavioral skills for coping. |
(7) Emphasize adolescents’ autonomy and choice with respect to behavior – foster a sense of agency. |
(8) Challenge the idea that it is possible to completely avoid negative experiences when choosing to engage in risk. |
(9) Encourage adolescents to think about how past negative experiences can inform healthy decision-making in the future. |
(10) Encourage adolescents to plan ahead – foster a sense of intentionality. |