These risky behaviours are linked to poor educational attainment and a range of morbidity and mortality outcomes in later life ( Galambos and Tilton-Weaver, 1998, Rohde et al., 2001, Sandfort et al., 2008, Viner and Taylor, 2007), which has made the prevention of health risk behaviours by adolescents a focus for policy in the UK and internationally ( Hale and Viner, 2012).

Initiation of most risk behaviours generally occurs at ages 14–16 ( Hale and Viner, 2016), while it has further been shown that those who initiate risk behaviours early were more likely to be multiple risk-takers ( DuRant et al., 1999). Analysis of a UK birth cohort (the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children cohort study) showed that multiple risk behaviours (MRBs) in adolescence are common, with 74% of 15–16 year olds being physically inactive, 34% consuming alcohol at hazardous levels, and 42% being engaged in antisocial and criminal behaviour ( MacArthur et al., 2012). Risk behaviours in adolescence, such as substance use, alcohol consumption, poor diet, physical inactivity, unprotected sex and antisocial behaviour are common ( Kipping et al., 2015), and associated with adverse health and other outcomes in later adolescence ( Hale and Viner, 2016).

Uk chequebook