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

摘要： 青少年冒险既可能是不适应行为,也可能具有适应性意义。支持青少年不适应冒险的理论有问题行为理论、双系统模型、三角模型等;这些理论共通点是强调冒险由认知控制不足所致;而相反,支持适应性冒险的理论指出青少年冒险可能涉及认知控制参与,具体理论模型包括模糊痕迹理论、经验驱动适应认知模型等。此外,神经生化解释聚焦于多巴胺活动增强及其与认知控制的关联。本文进一步在整合视角下提出青少年冒险的双路径模型,主要基于认知控制在不适应或适应性冒险中的重要作用。未来研究应从冒险分类、影响因素和神经机制三个角度进一步验证这一双路径模型。

关键词: 青少年, 冒险, 认知控制