title: Evaluation of a behavioral measure of risk taking: the Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART).
abstract: The present study (N = 86) sought to evaluate a laboratory-based behavioral measure of risk taking (the Balloon Analogue Risk Task; BART) and to test associations between this measure and self-report measures of risk-related constructs as well as self-reported real-world risk behaviors. The BART evidenced sound experimental properties, and riskiness on the BART was correlated with scores on measures of sensation seeking, impulsivity, and deficiencies in behavioral constraint. Also, riskiness on the BART was correlated with the self-reported occurrence of addictive, health, and safety risk behaviors, with the task accounting for variance in these behaviors beyond that accounted for by demographics and self-report measures of risk-related constructs. These results indicate that the BART may be a useful tool in the assessment of risk taking.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park 20742, USA. clejuez@psyc.umd.edu
authors.forename: C W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Lejuez
authors.forename: Jennifer P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Read
authors.forename: Christopher W
authors.initials: CW
authors.lastname: Kahler
authors.forename: Jerry B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Richards
authors.forename: Susan E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Ramsey
authors.forename: Gregory L
authors.initials: GL
authors.lastname: Stuart
authors.forename: David R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Strong
authors.forename: Richard A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: Brown
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001143:Arousal; D016739:Behavior, Addictive / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007175:Impulsive Behavior / Q000523:psychology; D007389:Internal-External Control; D008297:Male; D010552:Personality Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011594:Psychometrics; D012309:Risk-Taking