The Genesis of Adolescent Risk-Taking: Pathways through Family, School, and Peers

Abstract

This paper presents an empirical examination of Sampson and Laub's social control theory. It tests the effects of family structure, family attachment, school attachment and peer attachment on a generalized form of risk-taking behaviour which includes delinquency and drug use. The data come from a single stratified sample of 1,075 high school students in Ontario. The findings suggest that the effect of family attachment on risk-taking is moderated by both school and peer involvement. When family attachment is low, school attachment inhibits risk-taking and strong peer attachment reinforces it.