The greatest threats to the health and well-being of young people in developed societies are not illness and disease but choices youth make -- the things kids do that jeopardize themselves and others, including reckless driving, unprotected sex, experimentation with drugs, and delinquency. Because most forms of risky and reckless behavior peak in adolescence, Dr. Laurence Steinberg, of Temple University, has sought to understand these behaviors and explore ways of preventing behaviors that have harmful and life-threatening consequences. His research is concerned with the treatment of adolescents and youth in contemporary society and is at the intersection of adolescent brain and behavioral development. His research has numerous applications that will improve the well-being of young people and their families.

Dr. Steinberg's research solves pressing social problems with rigorous scientific research. His previous research has had a systemic impact on America's youth, as evidenced by the Supreme Court citing his research supporting their decision to abolish the juvenile death penalty. While his research is grounded in empirical science, it has had a significant impact on public policy. Dr. Steinberg explains that as a researcher, he has "an obligation to do work on things that are important in people's lives and to try to do work that will improve the well-being of kids and their families." This obligation is lived out as he approaches his research by beginning with a societal problem and then tackling how such problems can be solved scientifically. As one of the world's leading experts on adolescence and as the author or editor of 17 books, Dr. Steinberg is a researcher who aims to provide strategies for maintaining the safety and well-being of children and adolescents.

Current research includes:

• Peer Influence: Dr. Steinberg is investigating the ways in which peers influence adolescent risk-taking. Research has shown that peers dramatically influence the decisions adolescents make; Dr. Steinberg's current research uses brain imaging and behavioral experiments in order to understand the neural and behavioral factors that account for the peer effect. By answering why adolescents make poorer decisions when surrounded by their peers, researchers can design better programs and interventions to help diminish adolescent risk-taking.

• Making Decisions: Dr. Steinberg examines the ways in which core psychological processes that affect judgement, decision-making, and risk-taking develop between the ages of 10 and 30. He is especially interested in the implications of such research for legal and social policies that affect teenagers and young adults, particularly in the context of criminal law. His research has already improved policy-level changes that have affected juvenile offenders in the U.S.

• Adolescents in the Military: In combat, when the army sends soldiers, they send them in groups of four called fireteams. Most of the soldiers in these fireteams are adolescents. Dr. Steinberg has begun investigating the ways in which the peer effect may influence decision-making while in combat, and how the age mix of fireteams can be altered to improve warriors' decision making. Outcomes of such research may help improve decision-making of soldiers, and save the lives of young warriors.