Abstract
Exposure to traumatic stressors and subsequent trauma-related mental changes may alter a person’s risk-taking behavior. It is unclear whether this relationship depends on the specific types of traumatic experiences. Moreover, the association has never been tested in displaced individuals with substantial levels of traumatic experiences. The present study assessed risk-taking behavior in 56 displaced individuals by means of the balloon analogue risk task (BART). Exposure to traumatic events, symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder and depression were assessed by means of semi-structured interviews. Using a novel statistical approach (stochastic gradient boosting machines), we analyzed predictors of risk-taking behavior. Exposure to organized violence was associated with less risk-taking, as indicated by fewer adjusted pumps in the BART, as was the reported experience of physical abuse and neglect, emotional abuse, and peer violence in childhood. However, civil traumatic stressors, as well as other events during childhood were associated with lower risk taking. This suggests that the association between global risk-taking behavior and exposure to traumatic stress depends on the particular type of the stressors that have been experienced.
Highlights
Risk-taking behavior describes behaviors involving the opportunity for both potential loss and reward with an uncertain outcome probability, such as drug consumption, delinquency, unhealthy eating habits or unprotected sex [1]
The objective of the current study was to examine whether specific types of trauma exposure, including those of war and torture with subsequent symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and depression, were followed by an increase in risk behavior as measured by the balloon analogue risk task (BART) in displaced individuals from various countries who have resettled in Germany
All participants had experienced a minimum of one traumatic event, and the overall majority of 93 percent had been exposed to various forms and frequencies of organized violence
Summary
Risk-taking behavior describes behaviors involving the opportunity for both potential loss and reward with an uncertain outcome probability, such as drug consumption, delinquency, unhealthy eating habits or unprotected sex [1]. Numerous studies have identified exposure to traumatic events and subsequent symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as risk factors for increased risk-taking behavior [for reviews see 1, 2, 3]. Both a history of different types of childhood maltreatment and lifetime traumatic experiences had a cumulative effect on risk-taking behaviors such as substance abuse and criminality [e.g., 4]. Childhood maltreatment was a predictor of elevated risky sexual behavior during both adolescence [e.g., 5] and adulthood [e.g., 6], with sexual abuse as a prominent risk factor [e.g., 7, 8]. Depression symptoms mediated these associations in adolescents who had been abducted or threatened by armed groups in northern Uganda [9]. Ben-Zur and Zeidner [1] concluded that elevated risk behavior might arise from exposure to life-threatening events
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
