UC Riverside

Health and safety risk taking behaviors (e.g., substance abuse, reckless driving, and unprotected sex) are most prevalent during emerging adulthood (ages 18-25). A burgeoning body of research points to the social nature of risk taking, yet there is a gap in understanding how and why peer influence is associated with risk taking. Study 1 used a novel laboratory experiment to examine peer socialization effects by manipulating exposure to peers during a behavioral risk taking task. Participants (N = 137) played a computerized behavioral measure of risk taking, the Balloon Analogue Risk Task-Youth (BART-Y; Lejuez, Aklin, Daughters, Zvolensky, Kahler, & Gwadz, 2007) once alone and once with a same-sex confederate peer. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three peer conditions: a condition in which peers encouraged risk taking, a condition in which peers discouraged risk taking, or a peer-neutral condition. Results indicated that there were significant between-group differences whereby levels of riskiness in the peer-encouraging risk condition were significantly higher than either of the other peer conditions. Within-person comparisons indicated individuals were more risk taking relative to baseline in both peer-encouraging and peer-neutral conditions. In contrast, participants reduced their risk taking in the context of a more cautious peer. Susceptibility to peer influence and risky decision making during the post-adolescent years are discussed.

Study 2 used a subsample (n = 68) of the participants from Study 1 who played the BART in the alone condition first to explore methodological questions not addressed in Study 1regarding the underlying meaning of the BART-Y in relation to self-report risk taking. Furthermore, questionnaires assessed how psychological processes in multiple domains including perceptions of risks and benefits, identity exploration and risk self-schema, as well as trait fearfulness correspond to BART-Y. Findings demonstrated that participants who perceived fewer risks, had a relatively fearless personality, and identified as a risk-taker were more risk taking on the BART-Y. However, the BART-Y was not correlated to self-report risk taking, suggesting different methodologies tap into distinct components of riskiness. In conclusion, this dissertation illustrates the utility of multimethod approaches to study psychological and social correlates of emerging adult risk taking.