Risk-taking in adolescence, or Pinocchio's truth

Abstract

Purpose: Starting from the precautionary principle and the illusions it sells, this article will attempt to sketch out the clinical issues arising from the treatment of teenagers seen for "risk-taking". The hypothesis developed here is that a certain type of teenage behavior, when coming up against the precautionary principle, could in fact be a quest for truth, and that social regulation then assimilates this quest to pathological risk-taking. Methods: Pinocchio's initiatory adventures, a classic tale in our culture, can help to illustrate this phenomenon. This character puts risk-taking behavior in perspective with boldness, which for its part accelerates the maturing process. In the story, social concerns, essentially in terms of education, combine with psychological and physical transformations. The way this character relates to risk sheds a new light on the question of truth. Results: From this point of view, it can be said that we are witnessing the emergence of a new social development in connection with the process of "subjectivation" in adolescence. This is why what is dubbed "risky behavior" is actually not a new pathology but a social issue. Discussion: The main task is thus to define ways to maintain an objective definition of truth, which is required for the management-based evolution of society, but which makes doubt pathological. Keeping truth on the side of the principle of reality turns social relationships into tests hinged on an objective. For the adolescent entering puberty and about to leave his/her family, sexual issues open breaches in the truths of childhood, and this generates feelings of loss and abandonment. By looking for shelter in social truths, the adolescent becomes trapped in his own logic, to the extent that he feels like a puppet. The subjective process that enables him to move beyond this threshold stage consists in doubting the discourse of authority and favouring phenomenal truth rather than objectifying discourse. This amounts to a triple symbolic murder that transforms discourse so that it can tell the truth. Conclusion: To conclude, what we call "risky behavior" can be understood as setting the stage for a subjective process that transits through doubt.