NCJ Number
237457
Journal
Journal of Youth and Adolescence Volume: 40 Issue: 12 Dated: December 2011 Pages: 1607-1622
Date Published
December 2012
Length
16 pages
Annotation
This study examined the role of deliberative decisionmaking (the tendency to consider options and consequences before making a decision) and social contextual variables (parenting and friend influences) of adolescents.
Abstract
Adolescents may engage in risk behaviors that jeopardize their futures. Although adolescent risk-taking has long been attributed to faulty decisionmaking, surprisingly little research has directly examined this link. This study examined the role of deliberative decisionmaking (the tendency to consider options and consequences before making a decision) and social contextual variables (parenting and friend influences) in alcohol and drug use, risky sex, and delinquency. Participants were 7,748 adolescents (50 percent female) in grades 7-11 from the Add Health dataset (M age = 14.87, SD = 1.54). Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that deliberative decisionmaking and contextual variables were associated with risk behavior concurrently and 1 year later. Furthermore, deliberative decisionmaking interacted with social contextual variables in some models, indicating that deliberative decisionmaking may be especially important in certain contexts. These findings suggest that both cognitive and social factors need to be considered to explain adolescents' decisions to engage in risk behavior. (Published Abstract)