Risk Taking (Chp 9)
Prevention
(Empirically supported components of) School-based health education Deter risk taking through youth development programs Reduce the risks to which adolescents are exposed...
Explanatory models: Traditional
- "rational" decision-making - risk taking determined by deliberate, quantitative weighing of risks/benefits - focus: perceived control, behavior intention and perceived risks - Do they know the risk? Did they intend to do that?
Adolescents are motivated more by __________ than ________, particularly _________ teens
- immediate rewards - punishment - young
CAVEAT: Adolescents perceive themselves as _____ vulnerable than adults for some behaviors
- more - ex. risk of lung cancer from smoking
Adolescent perception of their own risks compared with those of...
- peers - adults - published estimates
Explanatory models: Newer
- risk-taking determined by experience & willingness (vs. intention)
What are the two paths to risk-taking?
1. reasoned (analytic, cold) 2. reactive (experiential, hot, ex. sex)
reactive path
Adolescents exhibit heightened sensitivity to novel/exciting experiences, especially young (male) teens
Risk Perception - Findings
Adolescents who engage in risky behavior estimate own risk as higher, on average, compared to peers who abstain from risky behavior Across many domains, adults and adolescents evaluate risks similarly (by age 15 or 16) For adolescents, subjective benefits (e.g., fun) more important than costs?!
Peer Influence, cont.
Conformity increases during early adolescence, highest during middle adolescence Changes in the brain implicated Peer opinions more influential than parent for day-to-day matters (e.g., music, clothing style), however... Parents have more influence on long-term issues, basic values
Susceptibility to Peer Influence
Differences by sex, race/ethnicity, parenting, e.g., Girls < boys African American < other groups < Asian American Authoritative (appropriately supportive) parenting < parenting that is less supportive, more controlling (if influence is negative) Individual differences in neural activity also related to susceptibility to peer influence
Dual-Process Approaches
Identify two paths to risk-taking: Reasoned Reactive (based on experience, intuition) ...with differential maturation across adolescence (from heightened reward sensitivity but immature self-regulation)
...akin to "starting the engines with an unskilled driver
Late maturation of the prefrontal cortex (thru the 20s) compared to changes in the limbic system (early adolescence)
The older you get, heightened sensitivity to exciting experiences _____
decreases
Higher-risk teens estimate own risk as ______ compared with low-risk peers
higher
Prefrontal Cortex
important for planning, problem-solving decision-making, control of impulses
There is a general ______ in risk behaviors
increased
There is an _______ functional connectivity between prefrontal cortex & limbic system over adolescence, young adulthood.
increased
For adolescents, subjective benefits (fun) are _________ than costs.
more important
Adolescents are especially likely to take risks in the presence of _______
peers
Limbic System
responsible for processing of emotions, social information, rewards and
Across many domains, adults & adolescents evaluate risks ________
similarly