One student in particular comes to mind when discussing what influences risk taking behavior. This student is a fifteen year old male who was recently expelled from his sending school for bringing drugs to school. The student openly talks with his counselor about his frequent drug and alcohol use. He suffers from severe social anxiety and finds that using substances helps him cope in social situations. In addition to his anxiety, this student also comes from a family that is very unsupportive and his sending school made no effort to support him before asking him to leave. My supervisor understands the risk and protective factors associated with drug and alcohol use. Her goal is to get this student connected to a counselor at the community mental health center in order to help him manage his anxiety in a healthier way; which in turn will hopefully reduce his substance use. In addition, we have reached out to his family to try to help them learn how to support their child. Lastly, the student participates in weekly group counseling at the school and is fully supported by all the staff at Second Start. Due to the fact that Second Start has made an effort to understand the reasoning behind his drug use rather than punish him for it, we have a better chance at limiting or even eliminating …show more content…
A person who lives in poverty might have a more challenging time achieving certain parts of the hierarchy due to their lack of resources. A person is very unlikely to achieve love and belonging if they are very ill and unable to afford medical care. In addition, if that same individual is unable to feel love and belonging, self-actualization in unattainable. The significance of this theory is extremely clear when observing students. Second start is a school, and it is expected that students attend daily, ready to do their work. Unfortunately, all too often, students are unable to focus on their work because they haven’t had some of their most fundamental needs