Abstract
Family role transitions (marriage and parenthood) were examined in relation to risk behavior (risky driving, substance use, and risky sexual behavior) among 140 people aged 21–28. Being married and having had one or more children tended to be inversely related to reported participation in risk behavior. These relationships appeared to be mediated in part by sensation seeking and religiosity: sensation seeking and religiosity were found to be related to a variety of types of risk behavior, and people who were relatively low in sensation seeking and relatively high in religiosity were more likely to be married and have children. Different types of risk behavior were moderately to highly correlated, suggesting an interrelated syndrome of risk behavior in the twenties. Prevalence rates of risk behavior were consistent with previous studies showing most types of risk behavior to be highly prevalent in the twenties.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Arnett, J. (1991). Still crazy after all these years: Reckless behavior among young adults aged 23–27. Personal. Individ. Diff. 12:1305–1313.
Arnett, J. (1992). Reckless behavior in adolescence: A developmental perspective. Develop. Rev. 12:339–373.
Arnett, J. (1994). Sensation seeking: A new conceptualization and a new scale. Personal. Individ. Diff. 16:289–296.
Arnett, J. J. (1995). Broad and narrow socialization: The family in the context of a cultural theory. J. Marriage Family 57:617–628.
Arnett, J., and Balle-Jensen, L. (1993). Cultural bases of risk behavior: Danish adolescents. Child Develop. 64:1842–1855.
Arnett, J., and Taber, S. (1994). Adolescence terminable and interminable: When does adolescence end? J. Youth Adolescence 23:517–537.
Bachman, J. G., O'Malley, P. M., and Johnston, L. D. (1984). Drug use among young adults: The impacts of role status and social environments. J. Personality Social Psychol. 47:629–645.
Bachman, J. G., Wadsworth, K. N., O'Malley, P. M., Schulenberg, J., and Johnston, L. D. (1996). Marriage, divorce, and parenthood during the transition to young adulthood: Impacts on drug use and abuse. In Schulenberg, J., Maggs, J. L., and Hurrelman, K. (eds.), Health Risks and Developmental Transitions during Adolescence. Cambridge University Press, New York.
Baldwin, J., and Baldwin, J. (1988). Factors affecting AIDS-related sexual risk-taking behavior among college students. J. Sex Res. 25:181–196.
Barber, B. (1992). Family, personality, and adolescent problem behavior. J. Marriage Family 54:69–79.
Bell, N. J., and Bell, R. W. (1993). Adolescent Risk Taking. Sage, Newbury Park, CA.
Blane, H. T. (1979). Middle-aged alcoholics and young drinkers. In Blane, H. T., and Chafetz, M. E. (eds.), Youth, Alcohol, and Social Policy. Plenum, New York.
Brim, O. G. (1966). Adult socialization. In Clausen, J. A. (ed.), Socialization and Society. Little, Brown, Boston.
Brunswick, A. F., Messeri, P. A., and Titus, S. P. (1992). Predictive factors in adult substance abuse: A prospective study of African American adolescents. In Glantz, M., and Pickens, R. (eds.), Vulnerability to Drug Abuse. American Psychological Association, Washington, DC.
DeVellis, R. F. (1991). Scale Development: Theory and Applications. Sage, Newbury Park, CA.
Donovan, J. E., Jessor, R., and Jessor, L. (1983). Problem drinking in adolescence and young adulthood: A follow-up study. J. Stud. Alcohol 44:109–137.
Dryfoos, J. G. (1991). Common components of successful interventions with high-risk youth. In Bell, N. J., and Bell, R. W. (eds.), Adolescent Risk Taking. Sage, Newbury Park, CA.
DuRant, R. H., and Sanders, J. M. (1989). Sexual behavior and contraceptive risk taking among sexually active adolescent females. J. Adolesc. Health Care 10:1–9.
Goldscheider, F., and Goldscheider, C. (1994). Leaving and returning home in 20th century America. Pop Bull. 48(4), Population Reference Bureau, Washington, DC.
Goodstadt, M. S., Chan, G. C., Sheppard, M. A., and Cleve, J. C. (1986). Factors associated with cannabis nonuse and cessation of use: Between and within survey replication of findings. Addict. Behav. 11:275–286.
Gottfredson, M. R., and Hirschi, T. (1990). A General Theory of Crime. Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA.
Horwitz, A. V., and White, H. R. (1991). Becoming married, depression, and alcohol problems among young adults. J. Health Social Behav. 32:221–237.
Irwin, C. E., Jr. (1993). Adolescence and risk taking: How are they related? In Bell, N. J., and Bell, R. W. (eds.), Adolescent Risk Taking. Sage, Newbury Park, CA.
Jessor, R. (1987). Problem behavior theory, psychosocial development, and adolescent problem drinking. Br. J. Addict. 82:331–342.
Jessor, R., Donovan, J. E., and Costa, F. M. (1991). Beyond Adolescence: Problem Behavior and Young Adult Development. Cambridge University Press, New York.
Johnston, L. D., O'Malley, P. M., and Bachman, J. G. (1994). National Survey Results on Drug use from the Monitoring the Future Study, 1975–1993 (NIH Publication No. 94-3810). U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC.
Jones, E. F., Forrest, J. D., Goldman, N., Henshaw, S., Lincoln, R., Rosoff, J. I., Westoff, C. F., and Wulf, D. (1986). Teenage Pregnancy in Industrialized Countries. Yale University Press, New Haven, CT.
Kandel, D. B., Kessler, R. C., and Marguiles, R. Z. (1978). Antecedents of adolescent initiation into drug use: A developmental analysis. J. Youth Adolesc. 7:13–40.
Kandel, D. B., and Raveis, V. H. (1989). Cessation of illicit drug use in young adulthood. Arch. Gen. Psychiat. 74:109–116.
Katz, J. (1988). Seducations of Crime: Moral and Sensual Attractions of Doing Evil. Basic Books, New York.
Ketterlinus, R. D., and Lamb, M. E. (1994). Adolescent Problem Behavior: Issues and Research, Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ.
Ketterlinus, R. D., Lamb, M. E., and Nitz, K. A. (1994). Adolescent nonsexual and sex-related problem behaviors: Their prevalence, consequences, and cooccurrence. In Ketterlinus, R. D., and Lamb, M. E. (eds.), Adolescent Problem Behavior: Issues and Research, Erlbaum, Hillsdale, NJ.
Lyng, S. (1991). Dysfunctional risk taking: Criminal behavior as edgework. In Bell, N. J., and Bell, R. W. (eds.), Adolescent Risk Taking. Sage, Newbury Park, CA.
MacDonald, N. E., Wells, G. A., Fisher, W. A., Warren, W. K., King, M. A., Doherty, J. A., and Bowie, W. R. (1990). High-risk STD/HIV behavior among college students. JAMA 263:3155–3159.
Marsiglio, W., and Mott, F. (1986). The impact of sex education on sexual activity, contraceptive use, and premarital pregnancy among American teenagers. Fam. Plan. Perspect. 18:151–161.
Miller-Tutzauer, C., Leonard, K. E., and Windle, M. (1991). Marriage and alcohol use: A longitudinal study of “maturing out.” J. Stud. Alcohol 52:434–440.
Newcomb, M. D., and Bentler, P. M. (1988). Consequences of Adolescent Drug Use: Impact on the Lives of Young Adults. Sage, Newbury Park, CA.
Newcomb, M., and Felix-Ortiz, M. (1992). Multiple protective and risk factors for drug use and abuse: Cross-sectional and prospective findings. J. Personal. Social Psychol. 63:280–296.
Norusis, M. J. (1988). SPSS/PC + V2.0 Base Manual. SPSS, Inc., Chicago, IL.
Osgood, D. W., Johnston, L. D., O'Malley, P. M., and Bachman, J. G. (1988). The generality of deviance in late adolescence and early adulthood. Am. Sociol. Rev. 53:81–93.
Osgood, D. W., and Ortega, S. (1991, November). Lifestyles, roles, and deviance across the lifespan. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Criminology, San Francisco.
Osgood, D. W., Wilson, J. K., O'Malley, P. M., Bachman, J. G., & Johnston, L. D. (1996). Routine activities and individual deviant behavior. Am. Sociol. Rev., in press.
Power, C., and Estaugh, V. (1990). The role of family formation and dissolution in shaping drinking behavior in early adulthood. Br. J. Addict. 85:521–530.
Roof, W. C. (1993). A Generation of Seekers: The Spiritual Journeys of the Baby Boom Generation. HarperSanFrancisco, San Francisco.
Schulenberg, J., Bachman, J. G., O'Malley, P. M., and Johnston, L. D. (1994). High school educational success and subsequent substance use: A panel analysis following adolescents into young adulthood. J. Health Social Behav. 35:45–62.
Schulenberg, J., O'Malley, P. M., Bachman, J. G., Wadsworth, K. N., & Johnston, L. D. (1996). Getting drunk and growing up: Trajectories of frequent binge drinking during the transition to adulthood. J. Stud. Alcohol 57:1–15.
Spitze, G. D. (1978). Role experiences of young women: A longitudinal test of the role hiatus hypothesis. J. Marriage Family 40:471–480.
Stein, J. A., Newcomb, M. D., and Bentler, P. M. (1994). Psychosocial correlates and predictors of AIDS risk behaviors, abortion, and drug use among a community sample of young adult women. Health Psychol. 13:308–318.
Stein, J. A., Smith, G. M., Guy, S. M., and Bentler, P. M. (1993). Consequences of adolescent drug use on young adult job behavior and job satisfaction. J. Appl. Psychol. 78:463–474.
Steinberg, L., Mounts, N. S., Lamborn, S. D., and Dornbusch, S. M. (1991). Authoritative parenting and adolescent adjustment across varied ecological niches. J. Res. Adolesc. 1:19–36.
Stevens, J. (1992). Applied Multivariate Statistics for the Social Sciences. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Studer, M., and Thornton, A. (1987). Adolescent religiosity and contraceptive use. J. Marriage Family 49:117–128.
U.S. Department of Transportation. (1995). Understanding Youthful Risk Taking and Driving. (DOT Publication No. HS 808-318). National Technical Information Service, Springfield, VA.
Yamaguchi, K., and Kandel, D. (1987). Drug use and other determinants of premarital pregnancy and its outcome: A dynamic analysis of competing life events. J. Marriage Family 49:257–270.
Zuckerman, M. (1990). The psychophysiology of sensation seeking. J. Personal. 58:313–345.
Zuckerman, M. (1994). Behavioral Expressions and Biological Bases of Sensation Seeking. Cambridge University Press, New York.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Arnett, J.J. Risk Behavior and Family Role Transitions During the Twenties. Journal of Youth and Adolescence 27, 301–320 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022851003328
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1022851003328