A Review of Adaptive and Maladaptive Risk Taking Behavior among Adolescents

Yu Tengxu; Hu Jinsheng

doi:10.16719/j.cnki.1671-6981.20230621

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Journal of Psychological Science ›› 2023, Vol. 46 ›› Issue (6) : 1440-1446. DOI: 10.16719/j.cnki.1671-6981.20230621

Social，Personality & Organizational Psychology

A Review of Adaptive and Maladaptive Risk Taking Behavior among Adolescents

Yu Tengxu, Hu Jinsheng

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Abstract

Adolescence, a period of life between the onset of puberty and adulthood, is a high-incidence period for risk-taking behaviors. Here are two opposing views on the value of risk-taking in adolescents:Adaptive or maladaptive. Researchers focusing on the problematic behaviors of adolescents tend to hold the view that risk-taking is maladaptive. They propose that adolescents lack enough cognitive control for reasonable risk-taking. On the contrary, researchers with the view of positive youth development (PYD) are more likely to agree that risk-taking is adaptive for adolescents. They believe that risk-taking plays an important role in the independence and self-development of adolescents. Additionally, other researchers tend to integrate the two views above. In this view, adolescents’ risk-taking behavior can be divided into two categories: adaptive and maladaptive risk-taking. Problem behavior theory proposes that adolescents take risks without enough control and consideration, which supports that risk-taking could be maladaptive for adolescents. Further, according to the dual systems model on the neural level, cognitive control system is gradually developing while social emotional system develops rapidly in adolescence and this imbalance contributes to adolescents’ poor ability of cognitive control and more risk-taking behaviors. Similar to the dual systems model, the triadic model also emphasizes that prefrontal cortex mainly underlying cognitive control is undeveloped for adolescents and cannot regulate amygdala and striatum properly. Specifically, the activation of striatum is promoted, while the activation of amygdala is inhibited. This pattern leads to approaching behaviors, such as risk-taking. In addition, from the perspective of neurotransmission, the enhanced dopamine activity in adolescence could account for individual’s high levels of risk-taking behaviors to obtain reward. Some other theories also support that risk-taking can be adaptive for adolescents. According to the fuzzy-trace theory, the accumulation of experience through risk-taking can lead to more adult-like decision-making and gist-based intuition for adolescents, who prefer making decisions based on verbatim representations. Further, according to the experience-driven adaptive cognitive model on the neural level, adolescence is a unique period of plasticity and refinement of memory circuits for the establishment of contextually-relevant responses to guide and optimize goal-oriented behaviors, and the risk-taking behaviors during this period serve adaptive purposes. These two theories both emphasize that adolescents accumulate experience via risk-taking behaviors, and the accumulation of experience facilitates their following adaptive decision making. Moreover, from the neurotransmission perspective, the enhanced dopamine activity can not only drive adolescents’ approaching behaviors, but also strengthen their cognitive control ability.

In summary, risk-taking can either be maladaptive or adaptive. A dual-pathway perspective of adolescents’ risk-taking behavior could integrate the two views above. Adolescents with high cognitive control are more likely to take adaptive risks, whereas adolescents with low cognitive control are more likely to take maladaptive risks. Furthermore, we propose the dual-pathway model drawing from the expected-value-of-control model and stress the importance of cognitive control. Specifically, maladaptive risk-taking driven is habitual behavior, while adaptive risk-taking is under effortful control. Future studies may need to verify the dual-pathway model from three perspectives, including the classification, influencing factors, and neural mechanisms of adolescents’ risk-taking behavior.

Key words

adolescents / risk taking / cognitive control

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Yu Tengxu, Hu Jinsheng. A Review of Adaptive and Maladaptive Risk Taking Behavior among Adolescents[J]. Journal of Psychological Science. 2023, 46(6): 1440-1446 https://doi.org/10.16719/j.cnki.1671-6981.20230621

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