Adolescent Risk-taking Behavior Research Articles

Adolescent Risk-Taking Behaviour in Context of Identity Formation

Adolescent Risk-Taking Behaviour in Context of Identity Formation

Rethinking peer influence and risk taking: A strengths-based approach to adolescence in a new era.

The ways that psychopathology manifests in adolescence have shifted dramatically over the past twenty-five years, with rates of many externalizing behaviors declining substantially while rates of anxiety and depressive disorders have skyrocketed. This paper argues that understanding these changes requires rethinking the field's historically somewhat negative views of intense peer connections, peer influences, and adolescent risk-taking behavior. It is argued that intense peer connections are critical to development, and that peer influence and risk taking have important, often overlooked, adaptive components. The shift in observed manifestations of adolescent psychopathology over this period can be viewed at least partly in terms of a shift away from strong peer connections and toward greater risk aversion. Implications for research and intervention based on a focus on the adaptive aspects of peer influences and risk taking are discussed.

Sex differences in the mediation role of political mobilization between the search for status and risk-taking behaviors in adolescents

One of the primary drivers behind adolescents engaging in risk-taking behaviors is the pursuit of status. This study examines how activism and radicalism mediate the relation between the search for status and risk-taking behaviors, moderated by sex. A total of 482 participants, with an average age of 17.97 (SD = 1.83), reported their levels of status-seeking, activism, radicalism, and engagement in risk-taking behaviors. The study revealed an indirect effect of seeking status on risk-taking behaviors through the mechanisms of activism and radicalism. Furthermore, sex moderated the relation between status, activism and radicalism, and risk-taking behaviors. In both girls and boys, activism correlated with reduced engagement in risk-taking, while radicalism correlated with increased engagement. In terms of sex differences, both activism and radicalism showed a more pronounced effect in boys than in girls. These findings highlight the role of political mobilization on the relation between the pursuit of status and engagement in risk-taking.

The Relationship Between Self-control and Adolescent Risktaking Behavior: The Chain Mediating Effect of Emotion Regulation Strategies and Depression

The Relationship Between Self-control and Adolescent Risktaking Behavior: The Chain Mediating Effect of Emotion Regulation Strategies and Depression

Research Progress and Intervention Measures of Adolescent Risk-Taking Behavior

Research Progress and Intervention Measures of Adolescent Risk-Taking Behavior

The Effect of Peer Influence on Risk-taking Behavior in Adolescents

Adolescents safety has been widely discussed in recent years. If teens fail to develop good safety habits, teens may be harmed at a physical or even mental level. Among other things, the risk-taking behavior of adolescents endangers their safety to a certain extent. Interpersonal interactions are also indispensable in the social environment, especially when adolescents are not yet fully mature, and their peers may also have some influence on their behaviors. This study aimed to examine the relationship between peer influence and risk-taking behavior among adolescents. Peer influence may be accounted for a large portion of the causes of adolescents' behaviors. Based on some past relevant literature, this paper speculates on some potential factors, such as age, cognition, emotion, and gender. Because of some limitations in the existing research, such as the small sample size, some of the inferred conclusions in this paper should be taken with caution. Nevertheless, this paper provides a reference angle for the subsequent improvement of the research area, which can help develop effective prevention and intervention strategies for adolescents.

Peer Pressure and Risk-Taking Behaviors Among Adolescent Girls in a Region Impacted by HIV/AIDS in Southwestern Uganda

PurposeThis paper uses data from a 3-arm Cluster Randomized Control Trial, Suubi4Her (N = 1260; 14–17-year-old school-going girls) to (1) assess the relationship between peer pressure and adolescent risk-taking behaviors; and (2) test the mediating effect of peer pressure on an intervention on adolescent risk-taking behaviors. MethodsStudents in the southwestern region of Uganda were assigned to three study arms: control (n = 16 schools, n = 408 students) receiving usual care comprising of sexual and reproductive health curriculum; and two active treatment arms: Treatment 1 (n = 16 schools, n = 471 students) received everything the control arm received plus a savings led intervention. Treatment 2 (n = 15 schools, n = 381 students) received everything the control and treatment arms received plus a family strengthening intervention. We used multilevel models to assess the relationship between peer pressure and risk-taking behaviors. We ran structural equation models for mediation analysis. ResultsUsing baseline data, we found that direct peer pressure was significantly associated with substance use risk behaviors, (β = 0.044, 95% CI = 0.008, 0.079). We also found a statistically significant effect of the intervention on acquiring STIs through the mediating effect of sexual risk-taking significant (β = −0.025, 95% CI: −0.049, −0.001, p = .045) and total indirect (β = −0.042, 95% CI: −0.081, −0.002, p = .037) effects. Also, there was a significant mediation effect of the intervention on substance use through peer pressure (β = −0.030, 95% CI: −0.057, −0.002, p = .033). DiscussionOverall, the study points to the role of peer pressure on adolescent girls' risk-taking behaviors; and a need to address peer pressure at an early stage.

Virtual agents and risk-taking behavior in adolescence: the twofold nature of nudging

Peer pressure can influence risk-taking behavior and it is particularly felt during adolescence. With artificial intelligence (AI) increasingly present in a range of everyday human contexts, including virtual environments, it is important to examine whether AI can have an impact on human’s decision making processes and behavior. By using the balloon analogue risk task (BART) evaluating propensity to take risk, in this study 113 adolescents' risk-taking behavior was measured when playing alone and in the presence of either a robot avatar or human avatar. In the avatar conditions, participants performed the BART while the avatars either (1) verbally incited risk-taking or (2) discouraged risk-taking (experimental tasks). Risk-taking behavior in the BART was assessed in terms of total number of pumps, gain and explosions. Tendency to impulsivity was also evaluated, as well as the effects of age and gender on risky behavior. The main finding showed a significant effect of both avatars on risk-taking tendency, with riskier behavior during incitement than discouragement conditions, the latter being also substantially different from the playing-alone condition. The results of this study open up new questions in a very sensitive and timely topic and offer various insights into the effect of nudging on adolescents’ behavior in virtual contexts.

Tipe kepribadian ekstraversi dan risk taking behavior remaja

Risk taking behavior in adolescents often gets them involved in various kinds of problems such as health, social sanctions and even legally. Extraversion is considered to be a predictor of risky behavior. Adolescents with extraversion tend to need more interaction with their external environment and also have a need to seek sensation. This study aims to determine the relationship between extraversion and risk-taking behavior in adolescents using a correlational quantitative method. The sample in this study were 194 adolescents and used the Google form as a data collection medium. The risk-taking behavior scale was compiled based on aspects of Weber and Blais and the extraversion scale used Eysenck's aspects which were then analyzed using SPSS 20. This study shows the results that extraversion has a positive relationship with risk-taking behavior in adolescents as indicated by the correlation value (r) 0.607 and a sig, ( p) 0.000.

The Risk-Taking and Self-Harm Inventory for Adolescents: Validation of the Italian Version (RTSHIA-I)

The aim of the present paper is to establish the factorial validity and reliability of the Risk-Taking and Self-Harm Inventory for Adolescents (RTSHIA), proposed by Vrouva and colleagues in 2010, in an Italian sample. The RTSHIA measures both Risk-Taking and Self-Harm behavior in adolescents. We administered the scale to a total of 1292 Italian adolescents from 9th to 12th grade; to verify the validity of the scale, we also assessed emotion regulation and psychopathological traits. The exploratory factor analysis (EFA) (N = 638) and the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) (N = 660) confirmed the original two-factor structure of the RTSHIA (Risk-Taking and Self-Harm). The only differences in the Italian version of the RTSHIA (RTSHIA-I) were that one item was moved from the original Risk-Taking factor to the Italian Self-Harm factor, and another item that was not included in the original RTSHIA is now part of the Risk-Taking factor in the Italian version. The reliability of the RTSHIA-I is also confirmed, and both factors correlate with emotion regulation and externalizing/internalizing traits. Our results suggest that the RTSHIA-I is a useful tool for assessing Risk-Taking and Self-Harm behaviors in Italian adolescents, and the correlational patterns indicate that these behaviors may be related to difficulties in mentalization skills.

Puberty and risky decision-making in male adolescents

Pubertal development is a potential trigger for increases in risk-taking behaviours during adolescence. Here, we sought to investigate the relationship between puberty and neural activation during risky decision-making in males using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Forty-seven males aged 12.5–14.5 years completed an fMRI risk-taking task (BART) and reported their tendencies for risky decision-making using a self-report questionnaire. Puberty was assessed through self-reported pubertal status and salivary testosterone levels. Testosterone concentration, but not physical pubertal status, was positively correlated with self-reported risk-taking behaviour, while neither was correlated with BART performance. Across the whole sample, participants had greater activation of the bilateral nucleus accumbens and right caudate on trials when they made a successful risky decision compared to trials when they made a safe choice or when their risky decision was unsuccessful. There was a negative correlation between pubertal stage and brain activation during unsuccessful risky decision-making trials compared within unsuccessful control trials. Males at a lower stage of pubertal development showed increased activation in the left insula, right cingulate cortex, dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC), right putamen and right orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) relative to more pubertally mature males during trials when they chose to take a risk and the balloon popped compared to when they watched the computer make an unsuccessful risky decision. Less pubertally mature males also showed greater activation in brain regions including the dmPFC, right temporal and frontal cortices, right OFC, right hippocampus and occipital cortex in unsuccessful risky trials compared to successful risky trials. These results suggest a puberty-related shift in neural activation within key brain regions when processing outcomes of risky decisions, which may reduce their sensitivity to negative feedback, and in turn contribute to increases in adolescent risk-taking behaviours.

Impact of Parent-Child Relationship on Adolescent Risk-Taking Behavior: The Mediating Role of School Connectedness

785 middle and high school students were polled using the Parent-Child Relationship Scale, the Adolescent Risk-taking Behavior Questionnaire, and the School Connectedness Scale in order to examine the mechanisms underlying the parent-child relationship's influence on adolescent risk-taking action. The findings revealed that (1) parent-child relationship had a considerably negative effect on adolescent risk-taking behavior; (2) School connectedness was a significant mediating variable of parent-child relationship influencing adolescent risk-taking behavior. The findings revealed that both parent-child relationship and school connectedness are significant predictors of adolescent risk-taking behavior, and parent-child relationship can influence adolescent risk-taking behavior by affecting school connectedness. This study has certain guiding significance for the intervention of adolescent risk-taking behavior.

The Adolescent Problem Gambling Prevalence Associated with Leisure-Time Activities and Risky Behaviors in Southern Spain

Gambling addiction is increasing and is becoming a public health concern due to the rise of gambling-related harms affecting the youth. Previous studies suggest a strong link between problem gambling (PG) and substance use and psychosocial and familial factors. Our main objective was to analyze the association between PG and factors like sport, leisure-time activities, and risk-taking behaviors in adolescents. A survey on substance use and addictive behaviors was performed in 2019 on a representative sample of 2240 subjects (14–18 years) from the Southern Spain Region. Data variables like socio-demographic characteristics, sport, leisure and free time activities, family environment, PG (Lie-Bet Scale), compulsive internet use (CIUS Scale), and consumption of alcohol and cannabis were collected using a standardized questionnaire. Weighted PG prevalence was estimated in either sex, as well as the differences between various levels of PG using chi-square tests. Crude and adjusted weighted logistic regression models were used to identify predictors associated with PG. The prevalence of PG was associated with shopping frequency, compulsive internet use, cannabis use in the previous month, higher family economic status, and having a homemaker father which increased the likelihood of PG. On the contrary, cultural hobbies such as playing an instrument, painting, singing, and writing, and having a working mother were inversely associated with PG. Our results suggest that encouraging participation in creative activities along with supervised shopping and monitoring compulsive internet use and cannabis consumption may contribute some protection against adolescent PG.

The Association between Peer Victimization and Risk-Taking Behavior among Chinese Adolescents: Testing a Moderated Mediation Model.

Peer victimization has been considered a main source of risk-taking behavior among adolescents, but little is known about the mechanisms underlying this association. Based on the social-cognitive theory and the person-environment interactions model, the current study built a moderated mediation model to explore whether self-control mediated the link between peer victimization and adolescent risk-taking behavior and whether positive parenting moderated this link. We used a 2-time longitudinal design (6 months apart) to investigate 488 adolescents (Mage = 15.63 years, SD = 1.64) from 3 middle schools in Guangzhou. The results were as follows: (1) There were significant correlations among peer victimization, adolescent risk-taking behavior, self-control, and positive parenting when controlling for demographic variables. (2) Peer victimization not only influenced risk-taking behavior directly, but also indirectly through self-control. (3) Positive parenting moderated the influence of self-control on risk-taking behavior. In other words, positive parenting could enhance the inhibitory effect of self-control on risk-taking behavior. The results help reveal the mechanism by which adolescent risk-taking behavior forms and may help inform interventions against adolescent risk-taking behavior.

Too Many Males or Too Many Females? Classroom Sex Ratio, Life History Strategies and Risk-Taking Behaviors

Prior research finds that sex ratio, defined as the proportion of males and females in a given context, is related to engagement in risk-taking behaviors. However, most research operationalizes sex ratio at a local context (e.g., regional or county), which fails to reflect with precision the sex ratios contexts of individuals at a closer level. Furthermore, the relationship between sex ratio and risk-taking behaviors may be affected by individuals’ life history strategy, with previous studies showing fast life history strategies linked to risk-taking behaviors, compared to slow life history strategies. The present study analyzes the relationship between classroom sex ratio and risk-taking behaviors and the interaction between classroom sex ratio and life history strategy in adolescents. The sample comprised 1214 participants nested in 57 classrooms, 49.75% females, 91.5% Spanish and a mean age of 16.15 years (SD = 1.23, range 14–21). Results from multilevel modeling showed a negative relation between classroom sex ratio and risk-taking behaviors in female adolescents with faster life history strategy. By contrast, classroom sex ratio in male adolescents related positively to risk-taking behaviors but did not interact with life history strategy. These findings underscore the importance of studying proximate sex ratio on risk-taking behaviors in adolescents and underline its potential influence in the development and expression of life history strategies.

0182 Childhood sleep is longitudinally associated with adolescent alcohol and marijuana use

Abstract Introduction Worse sleep health has been linked with greater substance use among adolescents. However, most studies have only cross-sectionally examined this relationship or examined these longitudinal effects in children with sleep disorders. This study investigates whether childhood sleep is longitudinally associated with adolescent alcohol or marijuana use. Methods We analyzed data from the Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, a longitudinal birth cohort. Parents reported their child’s bedtime at ages 3, 5, and 9, and their child’s average sleep duration at ages 5 and 9. At age 15, adolescents self-reported their bedtime, time in bed, whether they ever drank alcohol without parents, and whether they ever tried marijuana. Only participants with complete data were included (N=1,493). Logistic regression analyses for each substance use outcome were adjusted for age, sex, race, family socioeconomic status, family structure, and caregiver education level. Results Later bedtime at age 3 was longitudinally associated with lower odds of ever drinking alcohol at age 15 (OR=0.73, CI=0.58, 0.91, p<0.01) whereas later bedtime at age 9 was associated with greater odds (OR=1.44, CI=1.10, 1.89, p<0.01). Later bedtime at age 15 was cross-sectionally associated with greater odds of ever drinking alcohol (OR=1.40, CI=1.23, 1.59, p<0.01). Later bedtime at age 5 was associated with greater odds of ever trying marijuana (OR=1.25, CI=1.00, 1.57, p<0.05), as was later bedtime at age 15 (OR=1.34, CI=1.19, 1.51, p<0.01). Additionally, longer sleep duration at age 9 was longitudinally associated with lower odds of ever trying marijuana (OR=0.84, CI=0.74, 0.97, p<0.02). Adolescents who had longer time in bed at age 15 had lower odds of ever drinking alcohol (OR=0.72, CI=0.63, 0.81, p<0.01) and ever trying marijuana (OR=0.89, CI=0.79, 0.99, p<0.04). Conclusion In general, earlier bedtimes and longer sleep duration during childhood and adolescence were associated with lower odds of ever using alcohol or marijuana during adolescence. These results are consistent with current literature indicating that healthy sleep is associated with reduced risk-taking behaviors. Future research should further investigate whether sleep patterns across childhood are linked to decision-making and risk-taking behaviors in adolescence. Support (If Any) R01HD073352 (to LH), R01HD36916, R01HD39135, R01HD40421

Implementation of a Brief Dialectical Behavioral Therapy Skills Group in High Schools for At-Risk Youth: Protocol for a Mixed Methods Study

BackgroundAdolescence is a developmental period marked by engagement in risk-taking behaviors, especially among impulsive or emotionally dysregulated youth. Thus, interventions that teach skills to reduce the risk of negative outcomes associated with emotional dysregulation are required. Social and emotional learning (SEL) programs have been developed to address both adolescent emotional dysregulation and risk-taking behaviors; however, current programs have mostly been implemented among younger youth and are used as a tier 1 universal intervention rather than a targeted tier 2 intervention for youth identified with emotional regulation difficulties.ObjectiveThis study aimed to address the need for SEL programming that can be delivered in schools, particularly for older youth who have difficulties with emotional or behavioral dysregulation, to reduce the risk of health-risk behaviors among this population.MethodsHere, we outline the implementation of an SEL intervention titled Going 4 Goals, a 9-session adaptation of the Dialectical Behavioral Therapy for Adolescents (DBT-A) program delivered to at-risk high school students in a school setting. The primary objectives of the study are to test whether participating in the skills group intervention produces significant increases in the core DBT-A skills of mindfulness, emotional regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness, while also producing significant decreases in substance use and risky behaviors. These primary outcomes are based on changes in participant scores between baseline and after the intervention and follow-ups at 1, 3, and 6 months compared with a control group of youth participating in the school’s health curriculum at the same time points. Qualitative interviews will also be conducted with intervention participants and school staff to examine acceptability and facilitators of and barriers to the intervention.ResultsA total of 171 participants across 13 groups had been enrolled in the intervention, with data collection ending December 2021. Data analysis will begin in the spring of 2022, with expected results to be published in the spring of 2023.ConclusionsThis paper describes the protocol of the 9-session school-based adaptation of the DBT-A intervention and discusses the strengths and limitations of the study and future directions.International Registered Report Identifier (IRRID)DERR1-10.2196/32490

Is being a victim of bullying or cyberbullying in secondary school associated with subsequent risk-taking behavior in adolescence? A longitudinal study in secondary schools.

Neurobiological and social changes in adolescence can make victims of bullying more susceptible to subsequent impulsive behavior. With the high prevalence of bullying in schools and rise in cyberbullying in the United Kingdom, it is important that the health impacts of bullying victimization, including on risk-taking, are understood. Our study aims to investigate whether bullying/cyberbullying victimization is associated with subsequent health risk-taking behavior in adolescence. Risk-taking behavior includes electronic cigarette and cigarette smoking, alcohol consumption, illicit drug use, early sexual debut, weapon carrying, damaging property, and setting fire. A secondary quantitative analysis of data from 3337, English, secondary school students in the control arm of the INCLUSIVE trial, constituting an observational cohort. Bullying victimization was measured at baseline (age 11/12 years) using the gatehouse bullying scale and a separate question on cyberbullying victimization. Logistic regression was used to test for an association between bullying/cyberbullying victimization at baseline and risk-taking behavior at 36 months, adjusting for baseline risk-taking behavior and other potential confounders, and accounting for school clustering. There was strong evidence (p ≤ .02) for a positive dose-responsive association between being bullied at baseline and nearly all risk-taking behavior at follow-up. Although there was no evidence for an association between being bullied at baseline and weapon carrying (p = .102), there was evidence for a positive association between being cyberbullied at baseline and weapon carrying (p = .036). It is plausible that bullying/cyberbullying victimization increases the likelihood of subsequent risk-taking behavior in adolescence. Policy options should focus on implementing evidence-based antibullying school interventions.

The Effectiveness of Mindfulness and Modification Therapy on Impulsivity and Risk-Taking Behaviors in Adolescents with Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder

The Effectiveness of Mindfulness and Modification Therapy on Impulsivity and Risk-Taking Behaviors in Adolescents with Attention Deficit-Hyperactivity Disorder

Is Adolescent Risk Behavior Associated With Cross-Household Family Complexity? An Analysis of Post-separation Families in 42 Countries.

We examine whether complex cross-household structures of post-separation families are associated with higher risk-taking behavior in adolescence (substance use, bullying, early sexual onset) and whether the proportion, and thus statistical normality, of complex family types in a certain country is a potential moderator of this association. Drawing on representative data from 42 countries and regions from the Health Behavior in School-aged Children (HBSC) study in 2001, 2006, and 2010 (N = 506,977), we provide detailed analyses on adolescent risk behavior even for very rare family types, thereby accounting for the complex cross-household structure present in many post-separation families. We combine logistic and count regression models to analyze risk incidence and intensity. Controlling for relevant child and family characteristics, our results reveal a gradient along which adolescent risk-taking increases with family complexity: The incidence and intensity of risk-taking among adolescents is lowest in two-biological-parent and highest in two-household families with stepparents in both households. The association decreases with a higher proportion of the respective family type in a country. However, the differences between family types, other than the two-biological parent family, are not as pronounced as expected.