It is common knowledge among psychologists and neuroscientists that adolescence is a period of heightened reported and observed risk-taking. According to Crone and van Duijvenvoorde (2021), adolescence is the stage of development at which people turn into adults – that is, society’s independent members. In order for the research on risk-taking behaviors in adolescents to be complete, one should consider not only biological and social changes accompanying pubertal development but also take into account the development of the brain.
First of all, some scholars agree that there are three overlapping developmental periods when it comes to adolescence. As Crone and van Duijvenvoorde (2021) put it, puberty – its first stage between the ages of 10 and 16 years – is defined by various alterations manifesting themselves in gonadal hormones’ rapid expansion. The second phase occurs between the ages of 16 and 24 and is characterized by one’s rethinking of social goals, alongside being strongly influenced by culture. The third stage – from 18 to 29 years – determines the transition into adolescence, during which individuals are still evolving in terms of exploring their identity. All of these occurrences are likely to cause changes in behaviors, some of which might be labeled as risk-taking ones.
Parallel to behavioral research, the development of adolescents has been additionally studied from a brain development perspective. According to Crone and van Duijvenvoorde (2021), in adolescence, there is a marked change in the development of cortical neurons, which is interpreted as postpartum brain growth. The phase occurring in the mid-twenties consists of the recovery of gray matter, resulting in its stable neural density. White-matter bonds tend to grow throughout the developmental phase as a whole, but in puberty, the growth accelerates. The detection of these changes has prompted specialists to explore how they might be associated with risky behavior. For example, neural activity can be explored with the use of functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging – fMRI. Its paradigms elucidate the sensitivity of adolescent-specific neurons to rewards occurring in contexts of risk-taking behaviors.
To sum up, risk-taking behaviors in adolescents are an issue that needs to be studied thoroughly from a few different perspectives. In addition to considering the changes that occur due to individuals’ hormonal bursts in adolescence, one needs to explore the alterations in the brain. Only when all actors are taken into account will it be possible to reach a valid conclusion.
Reference
Crone, E. A., & van Duijvenvoorde, A. C. (2021). Multiple pathways of risk-taking in adolescence. Developmental Review, 62, 100996. Web.