Abstract
A number of studies have focused on the same-sex peer effect on and the developmental difference in adolescent risk-taking in terms of the dual systems model. Little research, however, addresses the effects of different observers, the role of different levels of individual self-control, and their interactions. To fill this gap, the present study examined the main and interactive effects of observer presence and individual self-control on male adolescents’ risk-taking behavior with an experimental design. A total of 261 male adolescents (Mage = 15.79 ± 0.79, range = 14–18) completed an adapted Stoplight Task, which measures risk-taking behavior, in the presence of an observer, either peer or adult, either male or female. The results indicated that a same-sex peer’s presence and low self-control were both risk factors of male adolescents’ risk-taking, but did only low self-control male adolescents take serious risks when in the presence of a same-sex peer whereas those with high self-control consistently had low levels of risk-taking under any condition. An opposite-sex observer, particularly an opposite-sex adult’s presence, played a similar protective role for male adolescents with low self-control. The findings suggest that a high level of self-control closely related to the cognitive control system may significantly buffer the negative effect of an adverse social stimulus which activates the social-emotional system on male adolescents’ risk-taking; the findings also reveal that an opposite-sex adult’s presence may contribute to a decrease in male adolescents’ risk-taking by improving their cognitive control system.
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Acknowledgements
We wish to acknowledge the school for allowing the research to be conducted. Thanks for the teachers, parents, and the adolescents who volunteered to participate in this study and for Dr. Steinberg at Temple University who provided us with the procedure package of the Stoplight Game.
Authors’ Contributions
L.T. conceived of the study and drafted the manuscript; M.G. developed the hypotheses, oversaw the data analysis, interpreted the results, and revised the manuscript; Y.F.L. contributed to the statistical analyses and the writing of the manuscript; L.L. participated in the design of the study, performed data collection, and contributed to the writing of the manuscript; Y.H.L. helped to draft the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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All data generated and/or analyzed during the current study are not publicly available but are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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All procedures performed in this study 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.
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Informed consent was obtained from all parents for their children’s participation.
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Tian, L., Guo, M., Lu, Y. et al. Risk-Taking Behavior Among Male Adolescents: The Role of Observer Presence and Individual Self-Control. J Youth Adolescence 51, 2161–2172 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-022-01659-5
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-022-01659-5