NCJ Number
226440
Journal
Journal of Adolescence Volume: 32 Issue: 1 Dated: February 2009 Pages: 135-151
Date Published
February 2009
Length
17 pages
Annotation
This study investigated cultural differences in the motives for Turkish and Welsh adolescent risk-taking.
Abstract
Results of the study showed that there were few age differences in the motives underlying risk-taking, however, there were the expected differences in the frequency of certain risk-taking behaviors: anti-authority and social. To study differences in perceived motives that cause Turkish and Welsh adolescents to engage in perceived risks, a measurement scale to assess motive for risk-taking was constructed and validated cross-culturally; this scale was based on Kloep and Hendry’s theoretical classification and include the results of Guney and Cok’s (2006) study. Results found cultural differences on all categories of risk-taking motives, with Turkish respondents generally scoring lower than Welsh respondents; however, effect sizes were small. Contrary to previous research, adolescents in both cultures reported engaging mostly in calculated risks that they perceived would lead to a desirable goal in the future. Typical adolescent risk-taking to impress the peer groups (audience controlled motives) figured lowest in their reasons for taking risks. This suggests that young people may be more sophisticated in their behavior than has been previously suggested or at least perceive themselves not to be influenced by immediate gratification motives. Data were collected from 922 Turkish and Welsh young people between 14 and 20 years of age. Tables, figures, and references