Age patterns in risk taking across the worldShow others and affiliations
2018 (English)In: Journal of Youth and Adolescence, ISSN 0047-2891, E-ISSN 1573-6601, Vol. 47, no 5, p. 1052-1072Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
Epidemiological data indicate that risk behaviors are among the leading causes of adolescent morbidity and mortality worldwide. Consistent with this, laboratory-based studies of age differences in risk behavior allude to a peak in adolescence, suggesting that adolescents demonstrate a heightened propensity, or inherent inclination, to take risks. Unlike epidemiological reports, studies of risk taking propensity have been limited to Western samples, leaving questions about the extent to which heightened risk taking propensity is an inherent or culturally constructed aspect of adolescence. In the present study, age patterns in risk-taking propensity (using two laboratory tasks: the Stoplight and the BART) and real-world risk taking (using self-reports of health and antisocial risk taking) were examined in a sample of 5,227 individuals (50.7% female) ages 10-30 (M = 17.05 years, SD = 5.91) from 11 Western and non-Western countries (China, Colombia, Cyprus, India, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, the Philippines, Sweden, Thailand, and the US). Two hypotheses were tested: (1) risk taking follows an inverted-U pattern across age groups, peaking earlier on measures of risk taking propensity than on measures of real-world risk taking, and (2) age patterns in risk taking propensity are more consistent across countries than age patterns in real-world risk taking. Overall, risk taking followed the hypothesized inverted-U pattern across age groups, with health risk taking evincing the latest peak. Age patterns in risk taking propensity were more consistent across countries than age patterns in real-world risk taking. Results suggest that although the association between age and risk taking is sensitive to measurement and culture, around the world, risk taking is generally highest among late adolescents
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
2018. Vol. 47, no 5, p. 1052-1072
Keywords [en]
Adolescents, risk taking, development, cross-national
National Category
Psychology (excluding Applied Psychology)
Research subject
Child and Youth studies; SOCIAL SCIENCE, Psychology; SOCIAL SCIENCE, Psychology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:hv:diva-11451DOI: 10.1007/s10964-017-0752-yISI: 000428937200011PubMedID: 29047004Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85031722685OAI: oai:DiVA.org:hv-11451DiVA, id: diva2:1140007
Note
Funders: Klaus J. Jacobs Foundation; Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, RO1-HD054805.
2017-09-112017-09-112019-10-23