This article summarizes findings from a program of research supported by a grant from the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. I am grateful to Marie Banich, Elizabeth Cauffman, Sandra Graham, and Jennifer Woolard, who collaborated in all phases of the study design, data collection, data analysis, and preparation of prior reports.
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A dual systems model of adolescent risk-taking†
Article first published online: 8 MAR 2010
DOI: 10.1002/dev.20445
Copyright © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Issue
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Developmental Psychobiology
Special Issue: Special Issue on Psychobiological Models of Adolescent Risk
Volume 52, Issue 3, pages 216–224, April 2010
Additional Information
How to Cite
Steinberg, L. (2010), A dual systems model of adolescent risk-taking. Developmental Psychobiology, 52: 216–224. doi: 10.1002/dev.20445
- †
Publication History
- Issue published online: 19 MAR 2010
- Article first published online: 8 MAR 2010
- Manuscript Accepted: 8 JAN 2010
- Manuscript Received: 11 MAY 2009
- Abstract
- References
- Cited By
Keywords:
- adolescence;
- impulse control;
- reward-seeking;
- risk-taking;
- social neuroscience
Abstract
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. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 52: 216–224, 2010