Leiden University.
Harvard University.
Child Dev. 2018 Sep;89(5):1887-1907. doi: 10.1111/cdev.13063. Epub 2018 Apr 1.
Risk taking is a multidimensional construct. It is currently unclear which aspects of risk-taking change most during adolescence and if/how sex hormones contribute to risk-taking tendencies. This study applied a longitudinal design with three time-points, separated by 2 years, in participants aged 8-29 years (670 observations). The Balloon Analogue Risk Task, a delay discounting task, and various self-report questionnaires were administered, to measure aspects of risk taking. Longitudinal analyses demonstrated mostly nonlinear age-related patterns in risk-taking behavior and approach-related personality characteristics (peaking in late adolescence). Increased testosterone and estradiol were found to increase risk-taking behavior and impulsive personality, but decrease avoidance-like personality. This study demonstrates that risk taking is most pronounced in mid-to-late adolescence and suggests that sex hormones accelerate this maturational process.
冒险行为是一个多维度的结构。目前尚不清楚冒险行为的哪些方面在青少年时期变化最大，以及性激素如何影响冒险倾向。本研究采用了一项纵向设计，参与者年龄在 8 岁至 29 岁之间（670 个观测值），分三个时间点进行，时间间隔为 2 年。使用气球模拟风险任务、延迟折扣任务和各种自我报告问卷来测量冒险行为的各个方面。纵向分析表明，冒险行为和与趋近相关的个性特征的年龄相关性模式大多是非线性的（在青春期后期达到峰值）。研究发现，睾丸激素和雌二醇的增加会增加冒险行为和冲动个性，但会降低回避个性。本研究表明，冒险行为在从中年到青春期后期最为明显，并表明性激素加速了这一成熟过程。
