A dual systems model of adolescent risk-taking.
It has been hypothesized that reward-seeking and impulsivity develop along different timetables and have different neural underpinnings, and that the difference in their timetables helps account for heightened risk-taking during adolescence. In order to test these propositions, age differences in reward-seeking and impulsivity were examined in a socioeconomically and ethnically diverse sample of 935 individuals between the ages of 10 and 30, using self-report and behavioral measures of each construct. Consistent with predictions, age differences in reward-seeking follow a curvilinear pattern, increasing between preadolescence and mid-adolescence, and declining thereafter. In contrast, age differences in impulsivity follow a linear pattern, with impulsivity declining steadily from age 10 on. Heightened vulnerability to risk-taking in middle adolescence may be due to the combination of relatively higher inclinations to seek rewards and still maturing capacities for self-control.
Steinberg
Laurence
L
Department of Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA. lds@temple.edu
D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D000375:Aging / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007175:Impulsive Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D008297:Male; D008960:Models, Psychological; D012201:Reward; D012309:Risk-Taking; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult