Abstract
Risk-taking behavior is particularly widespread during adolescence, and negatively impacts the healthy growth and social adaptation of adolescents. Utilizing problem-behavior theory (PBT) and the family stress model (FSM), the current study examined the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and adolescents’ risk-taking behavior, as well as the mediating role of psychological capital and self-control. A total of 1,156 Chinese adolescent students (Mage = 15.51, 48% boys) completed a series of questionnaires anonymously. The results showed that: (1) Socioeconomic status was negatively correlated with adolescents’ risk-taking behavior; (2) Both psychological capital and self-control mediated the relationship between SES and adolescents’ risk-taking behavior independently; and (3) Psychological capital and self-control also mediated the relationship between SES and the risk-taking behavior of adolescents sequentially. This study reveals the internal mechanism of risk-taking behavior during adolescence and provides theoretical support and empirical evidence for preventing and reducing such behavior in this age group.
Highlights
Risk-taking behavior refers to action taken by an individual to obtain beneficial results when he/she can perceive the negative consequences of an intentional behavior (Ben-Zur and Zeidner, 2009)
Harman’s single factor test was used to determine the existence of 16 factors with eigenvalues greater than 1; the variance explained by the first factor accounted for 17.61% of the total variance, well below the specified standard of 40%, indicating that common method bias was not an issue in the study
Because gender and age were significantly related to the main research variables, they were controlled for in the follow-up analysis
Summary
Risk-taking behavior refers to action taken by an individual to obtain beneficial results when he/she can perceive the negative consequences of an intentional behavior (Ben-Zur and Zeidner, 2009). This form of behavior can be divided into positive and negative types. The former refers to behaviors that are beneficial to physical and mental health and are acceptable to society, such as mountaineering, skiing, participating in speech contests, and so on. Recent studies have found that health-risk behaviors such as smoking, drinking, violence, and violations of regulations
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