Understanding deviance through the dual systems model: Converging evidence for criminology and developmental sciences
Introduction
From a health and well-being perspective, adolescence could be considered a paradoxical developmental period. On the one hand, adolescents' mental capacities become more powerful, effective, and flexible as compared to children, yet, they are also more vulnerable. This heightened vulnerability manifests itself through a surge in risky and health compromising behaviors. This change is particularly paradoxical as cognitive capacities greatly surpass the ones of children and nearly match the ones of adults (Dahl, 2004, Steinberg, 2007). The dual systems model was proposed as an explanation for these behaviors. The current study tested this model, namely whether impulsivity (impulse control) and sensation seeking levels differ during adolescence (also by sex) and whether this discrepancy (gap) was associated with deviance.
Section snippets
The dual systems model
Proposed by Steinberg and colleagues (Steinberg, 2007, Steinberg et al., 2008), the dual systems model identifies two distinct neurobiological subsystems as underlying the surge in risky behaviors during adolescence, the cognitive control and the socioemotional systems. The former includes the prefrontal cortex and connecting parts of anterior cingulate cortex (Casey and Jones, 2010, Steinberg, 2007) and is related to executive functioning (planning, decision making, impulse control). The
Current study
The current study sought to partially replicate some of the original findings from Steinberg et al.'s (2008) work on the developmental course of the associations between impulse control and sensation seeking. Secondly, like Shulman et al. (2015), it examined whether developmental changes were similar or different by sex. Third, it examined the extent to which the discrepancy score (or gap) predicted deviant behaviors, ranging from vandalism to interpersonal violence. With some exceptions (e.g.,
Sample
The data were collected as part of the International Study of Adolescent Development and Problem Behaviors (ISAD). More information about this study and data collection process can be found in Vazsonyi, Pickering, Junger, and Hessing (2001). The current study includes cross-sectional data from 16,266 participants from 11 countries, namely China (n = 1350), Czech Republic (n = 1222), Hungary (n = 871), Japan (n = 355), the Netherlands (n = 1315), Slovenia (n = 1422), Spain (n = 1030), Switzerland (n = 4018),
Results
Table 2 reports the correlation matrix for the variables of interest. In comparison to female youth, male adolescents reported significantly higher sensation seeking, impulsivity, and deviance. As expected, impulsivity and sensation seeking were positively associated as was deviance with each construct.
Discussion
Study findings were largely consistent with predictions by the dual systems model (Harden and Tucker-Drob, 2011, Shulman et al., 2015, Steinberg et al., 2008); however, some important differences emerged. First, Steinberg et al. (2008) found support for both linear and quadratic developmental changes in sensation seeking, but only linear negative ones for impulsivity. The current findings are consistent with evidence by Shulman et al. (2015), who found evidence of cubic developmental changes in
Conclusions
The current study used a large sample of adolescents and young adults to test basic propositions of the dual systems model. Several important findings emerged: 1) both sensation seeking and impulsivity (impulse control) showed cubic associations with age; 2) levels of sensation seeking and impulsivity (impulse control) were significantly higher for males than females in most age groups; 3) sensation seeking differences between males and females increased with age; and 4) the discrepancy score
Acknowledgements
We are indebted to all the schools, its administrators, and the students who completed the surveys; we would also like to thank Drs. Dick Hessing and Marianne Junger, Ginesa Torrente-Hernandez, Chuen-Jim Sheu, Li Huang, and Esra Burcu for their assistance in collecting data in the Netherlands, Spain, Taiwan, China, and Turkey, respectively. Partial support for data collections in Slovenia and the Czech Republic were provided to the first author by a Fulbright grant and by the Fulbright-Masaryk
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