Risk-Taking Behaviors in Adolescents With Chronic Cardiac Conditions: A Scoping Review

Advances in treatment and therapy for children with chronic cardiac conditions have extended their life expectancy. Risk-taking behavior among adolescents requires further exploration. Researchers conducted a scoping review to address a literature gap specific to risk-taking behavior among adolescents with chronic cardiac conditions.

Sources were limited to (1) human subjects, (2) English language or translatable to English, (3) adolescents without age restrictions, (4) all research designs and (5) presence of a chronic cardiac condition.

Searches of six electronic databases (CINAHL Plus Full Text, PubMed, Web of Knowledge, Scopus, ProQuest and Grey Literature Report) were conducted to verify the empirical literature between 1975 and 2018. Seventeen sources were included in this review.

Among the 17 sources, 12 sources examined risk-taking behavior by self-report among adolescents with chronic cardiac conditions. Tobacco, alcohol and/or other drug use and physical inactivity were the most prevalent risk-taking behaviors identified through this review.

Findings from this scoping review describe the types of risk-taking behaviors that adolescents with chronic cardiac conditions are engaging in, highlight similarities when compared to other types of chronic conditions, and serve as a foundation for future research among this population.

Discussion of risk-taking behaviors should be integrated into each healthcare encounter beginning in early adolescence and continuing through transition to adulthood and adult health care. Qualitative research studies may serve as an effective method by which to explore risk-taking behavior among adolescents with chronic cardiac conditions in greater detail.