Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The role of social and cognitive variables in adolescent risk-taking

  • Published:
Current Psychology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Participants were 491 high schools students in the Midwest USA. Questionnaires included risk behaviors, risk judgments, feelings of invulnerability, consideration of consequences, and perceptions of their best friend’s risk behaviors and consideration of consequences. Perceived best friends’ and personal consideration of negative consequences positively correlated with risk-behaviors for one subgroup. Cognitive variables partially mediated the relations between best friends’ risk taking/consideration of consequences and personal risk-taking for a subgroup. Consideration of personal consequences contributed the greatest amount of variance, with risk judgments and feelings of invulnerability accounting for less variance. Both social and cognitive factors played a role in risk-taking.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Albert, D., & Steinberg, L. (2011a). Judgment and decision making in adolescents. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 21(1), 211–224.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Albert, D., & Steinberg, L. (2011b). Peer influences on adolescent risk behavior. In M. T. Bardo, D. H. Fishbein, & R. Milich (Eds.), Inhibitory control and drug abuse prevention: From research to translation. New York: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Albert, D., Chein, J., & Steinberg, L. (2013). The teenage brain: Peer influences on adolescent decision making. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 22(2), 114–120.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Alexander, C., Piazza, M., Mekos, D., & Valente, T. (2001). Peers, schools, and adolescent cigarette smoking. Journal of Adolescent Health, 29, 22–30.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arnett, J. (1990). Contraceptive use, sensation seeking, and egocentrism among adolescents. Personality and Individual Differences, 11, 541–546.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Arnett, J. (1992). Reckless behavior in adolescence: A developmental perspective. Developmental Review, 12, 339–373.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bandura, A. (1977). Social learning theory. NY: Prentice-Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bandura, A. (1994). Social cognitive theory of mass communication. Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51(6), 1173–1182.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Baumrind, D. (1988). Adolescent exploratory behavior: Precursors and consequences. In L. L. Lipsitt & L. L. Mitnick (Eds.), Self-regulatory behavior and risk taking: Causes and consequences (pp. 109–141). New Jersey: Ablex Publishing.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beal, A. C., Ausiell, J., & Perrin, J. M. (2001). Social influences on health-risk behaviors among minority middle school students. Journal of Adolescent Health: Special Issue, 28, 474–480.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benthin, A., Slovic, P., & Severson, H. (1993). A psychometric study of adolescent risk perception. Journal of Adolescence, 16, 153–168.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Berndt, T. J. (1992). Friendship and friends’ influence in adolescence. In R. F. Muus & H. D. Porton (Eds.), Adolescent behavior and society: A book of reading (fifth ed., pp. 170–174). Boston: McGraw-Hill.

  • Buckley, L., Chapman, R., & Sheehan, M. (2010). Protective behavior in adolescent friendships: The influence of attitudes towards the consequences, friendship norms and perceived control. Journal of Youth Studies, 13(6), 661–679.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Centers for Disease Control (CDC). (2015). Adolescent and School Health high School YRBSS Results. Retrieved on June 8, 2018 from https://www.cdc.gov/healthyyouth/data/yrbs/results.htm.

  • Chapin, J. (2001a). It won’t happen to me: The role of optimistic bias in African American teens’ risky sexual practices. Howard Journal of Communications, 12, 49–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chapin, J. (2001b). Self-protective pessimism: Optimistic bias in reverse. North American Journal of Psychology, 3(2), 253–262.

    Google Scholar 

  • Chein, J., Albert, D., O'Brien, L., Uckert, K., & Steinberg, L. (2011). Peers increase adolescent risk taking by enhancing activity in the brain's reward circuitry. Developmental Science, 14, 1–10.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • D’Amico, E. J., & Fromme, K. (1997). Health risk behaviors of adolescent and young adult sibling. Health Psychology, 16(5), 426–432.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • DiIorio, C., Kelley, M., & Hockenberry-Eaton, M. (1999). Communication about sexual issues: Mothers, fathers, and friends. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59(1), 73–81.

    Google Scholar 

  • Elkind, D. (1967). Egocentrism in adolescence. Child Development, 38, 1025–1034.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fishbein, M., & Ajzen, I. (1975). Belief, attitude, intention, and behavior. Addison-Wesley.

  • Fromme, K., Katz, E. C., & Rivet, K. (1997). Outcome expectancies and risk-taking behavior. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 21, 421–442.

  • Furby, L., & Beyth-Marom, R. (1992). Risk taking in adolescence: A decision-making perspective. Developmental Review, 12, 1–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gerrard, M., Gibbons, F. X., & Warner, T. D. (1991). Effects of reviewing risk-relevant behavior on perceived vulnerability among woman marines. Health Psychology, 10, 173–179.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gerrard, M., Gibbons, F. X., Benthin, A. C., & Hessling, R. M. (1996a). A longitudinal study of the reciprocal nature of risk behaviors and cognitions in adolescents. What you do shapes what you think, and vice versa. Health Psychology, 15, 344–354.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gerrard, M., Gibbons, F. X., & Bushman, B. (1996b). Relationship between perceived vulnerability to HIV and precautionary sexual behavior. Psychological Bulletin, 119, 390–409.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gullone, E., & Moore, S. (2000). Adolescent risk-taking and the five-factor model of personality. Journal of Adolescence, 23, 393–407.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Gullone, E., Moore, S., Moss, S., & Boyd, C. (2000). The adolescent risk-taking questionnaire: Development and psychometric evaluation. Journal of Adolescent Research, 15, 231–250.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Halpern-Felsher, B. L., & Cauffman, E. (2001). Costs and benefits of a decision: Does making competence in adolescence and adults. Journal of Developmental Psychology, 22, 257–273.

    Google Scholar 

  • Halpern-Felsher, B. L., Millstein, S. G., Ellen, J. E., Adler, N. E., Tschann, J. M., & Biehl, M. (2001). The role of behavioral experience in judging risks. Health Psychology, 20(2), 120–126.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Henry, K. L., Slater, M. D., & Oetting, E. R. (2005). Alcohol use in early adolescence: The effect of changes in risk taking, perceived harm and friends' alcohol use. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 66(2), 275–283.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hill, P. L., Duggan, P. M., & Lapsley, D. K. (2012). Subjective invulnerability, risk behavior, and adjustment in early adolescence. Journal of Early Adolescence, 32(4), 489–501.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hollingshead, A. B. (1965). Two-factor index of social position. New Haven: Yale University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kandel, D. (1978). Homophily, selection, and socialization in adolescent friendships. American Journal of Sociology, 84(2), 427–436.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lapsley, D. & Duggan, P. (2000). The adolescent invulnerability scale: Factor structure and construct validity. Presented at SRA biannual meeting.

  • Lapsley, D., & Hill, P. (2010). Subjective invulnerability, optimism bias and adjustment in emerging adulthood. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 39(8), 847–857.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Millstein, S. G., & Halpern-Felsher, B. L. (2001). Perceptions of risk and vulnerability. In B. Fischhoff, E. Nightingale, & J. G. Iannotta (Eds.), Adolescent risk and vulnerability: Approaches to setting priorities to reduce their burden. Washington D.C.: National Academy Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Millstein, S. G., & Halpern-Felsher, B. L. (2002a). Perceptions of risk and vulnerability. Journal of Adolescent Health, 31, 10–27.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Millstein, S. G., & Halpern-Felsher, B. L. (2002b). Judgment about risk and perceived invulnerability in adolescents and young adults. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 12(4), 399–422.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moore, S., & Rosenthal, D. A. (1991). Adolescent invulnerability and perception of risk. Journal of Adolescent Research, 6, 164–180.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Muuss, R. E. (1996). Theories of adolescence (Sixth ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.

  • Oetting, E. R., & Beauvais, F. (1987). Peer cluster theory, socialization characteristics and adolescent drug use: A path analysis. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 34(2), 205–231.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Parent, E. C., & Newman, D. L. (1999). The role of sensation-seeking in alcohol use and risk-taking behavior among college women. Journal of Alcohol & Drug Education, 44(2), 12–28.

  • Peters, L. W. H., Wiefferink, C. H., Hoekstra, F., Buijs, G. J., ten Dam, G. T. M., & Paulussen, T. G. W. M. (2009). A review of similarities between domain-specific determinants of four health behaviors among adolescents. Health Education Research, 24, 198–223.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Quadrel, M. J., Fischhoff, B., & Davis, W. (1993). Adolescent (in) vulnerability. American Psychologist, 48, 102–116.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Radecki, C., & Jaccard, J. (1995). Perceptions of knowledge, actual knowledge, and information searching behavior. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 31, 107–118.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Reifman, A. & Lacey, R. S. (2000). Age differences in propensity to consider future consequences: A focus on adolescence. Unpublished manuscript, Texas Technological University.

  • Slater, M., Hayes, A., & Ford, V. (2007). Examining the moderating and mediating roles of news exposure and attention on adolescent judgments of alcohol-related risks. Communication Research, 34(4), 355–381.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smetana, J. G., & Bitz, B. (1996). Adolescents’ conceptions of teachers’ authority and their relations to rule violations in school. Child Development, 67(3), 1153–1172.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Steinberg, L. (2002). Clinical adolescent psychology: What it is, and what it needs to be. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 70(1), 124–128.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Steinberg, L. (2007). Risk taking in adolescence: New perspectives from brain and behavioral science. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 16(2), 55–59.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steinberg, L., & Monahan, K. (2007). Age differences in resistance to peer influence. Developmental Psychology, 43(6), 1531–1543.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Sullivan, H. S. (1953). The interpersonal theory of psychiatry. New York: Norton Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Tisak, M. S., Tisak, J., & Rogers, M. (1994). Adolescents’ reasoning about authority and friendship relations in the context of drug usage. Journal of Adolescence, 17(3), 265–282.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Urberg, K., & Robbins, R. L. (1984). Perceived vulnerability in adolescents to the health consequences of smoking. Preventive Medicine, 13, 367–376.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Veronneau, M., & Dishion, T. (2011). Middle school friendships and academic achievement in early adolescence: A longitudinal analysis. Journal of Early Adolescence, 31(1), 99–124.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weber, E. U., Blaise, A., & Betz, N. E. (2002). A domain-specific risk-attitude scale: Measuring risk perceptions and risk behaviors. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 15, 263–290.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weinstein, N. D. (1980). Unrealistic optimism about future life events. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 39, 806–820.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weinstein, N. D. (1987). Unrealistic optimism about susceptibility to health problems: Conclusions from a community-wide sample. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 10, 481–500.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Weinstein, N. D. (1998). Accuracy of smokers’ perceptions. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 20(2), 135–140.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Weinstein, N. D., & Lachendro, S. (1982). Egocentrism as a source of unrealistic optimism. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 8(2), 195–200.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Whalen, C. K., Henker, B., O’Neil, R., Hollingshead, J., Holman, A., & Moore, B. (1994). Optimism in children’s judgments of health and environmental risks. Health Psychology, 13(4), 319–325.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Zuckerman, M. (1991). Psychobiology of personality. New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Lamphere Public Schools, Madison Heights, MI, USA

    Helene D. Greenwald

  2. Wayne State University, 341 College of Education, Detroit, MI, 48202, USA

    Cheryl L. Somers & Lauren Mangus

Authors
  1. Helene D. Greenwald
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Cheryl L. Somers
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Lauren Mangus
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Helene D. Greenwald or Cheryl L. Somers.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of Interest

Helene Greenwald declares that she has no conflict of interest. Cheryl Somers declares that she has no conflict of interest. Lauren Mangus declares that she has no conflict of interest.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Greenwald, H.D., Somers, C.L. & Mangus, L. The role of social and cognitive variables in adolescent risk-taking. Curr Psychol 40, 485–496 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-018-9951-2

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12144-018-9951-2

Keywords

Search

Navigation