The Developmental Timing but Not Magnitude of Adolescent Risk-Taking Propensity Is Consistent Across Social, Environmental, and Psychological Factors

Purpose: Risk-taking is thought to peak during adolescence, but most prior studies have relied on small convenience samples lacking participant diversity. This study tested the generalizability of adolescent self-reported risk-taking propensity across a comprehensive set of participant-level social, environmental, and psychological factors.

Methods: Data (N = 1,005,421) from the National Survey on Drug Use and Health were used to test the developmental timing and magnitude of risk-taking propensity and its link to alcohol and cannabis use across 19 subgroups defined via sex, race/ethnicity, socioeconomic status, population density, religious affiliation, and mental health.

Results: The developmental timing of a lifespan peak in risk-taking propensity during adolescence (15-18 years old) generalized across nearly all levels of social, environmental, and psychological factors, whereas the magnitude of this peak widely varied. Nearly all adolescents with regular substance use reported higher levels of risk-taking propensity.

Discussion: Results support a broad generalizability of adolescence as the peak lifespan period of self-reported risk-taking but emphasize the importance of participant-level factors in determining the specific magnitude of reported risk-taking.