Socialization and Risk Behavior in Two Countries:

Abstract

Rates of risk behavior are discussed in terms of the differences and similarities in the socialization environments of Denmark and the United States. Adolescents aged 17-18 in middle-class communities in the two countries were compared on various aspects of socialization and risk behavior. Overall, socialization was narrower among the Danish adolescents, in the sense that they had more household obligations, greater community stability, and more adults beyond their immediate families who were involved in their socialization. Rates of risk behavior were higher for American adolescents in the areas of automobile driving (high-speed and drunk driving) and minor criminal behavior (shoplifting and vandalism), whereas Danish adolescents were higher in their rates of driving a bicycle or moped while intoxicated. Danish adolescents had higher rates of sexual intercourse than American adolescents, but American adolescents were less likely to use contraception, so the overall rates of sex without contraception were almost identical in the two countries.