NCJ Number
126395
Date Published
1990
Length
82 pages
Annotation
In examining risk taking behavior among adolescents, this paper assumes that risk taking involves choosing among several courses of action and that the choice made involves some chance of loss. A description of the decision-making perspective is followed by a demonstration of the advantages of approaching risk behaviors from that perspective.
Abstract
The approach is also used to reevaluate some perceptions regarding adolescent risk taking behavior. By drawing together research in developmental psychology and the psychology of judgement, the paper attempts to examine a number of issues related to adolescent decision-making. After reviewing the empirical evidence, the authors suggest that, in actuality, there are mixed results regarding the degree of risk taken by adolescents and that little is known about adolescent decision-making processes. Changing the social-structural environment of adolescents may be more effective in influencing individual choices than attempts to modify decision-making procedures. 1 table, 4 notes, and 117 references