Top

Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology

11-01-2025

Risk-Taking Behaviors of Young Children: The Role of Children’s and Parents’ Socioemotional and Cognitive Control Systems

Auteurs: Sophie Couture, Daniel Paquette, Marc Bigras, Karine Dubois-Comtois, Jean-Pascal Lemelin, Chantal Cyr, Annie Lemieux

Gepubliceerd in: Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology

Abstract

To prevent young children’s injuries, studies have considered both child (e.g., temperament, age, sex) and parent factors (e.g., parental supervision and style, attachment) associated with risk-taking behaviors. Building on risk-taking theory literature, Jonas and Kochanska (Jonas & Kochanska, Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology 46:1573–1583, 2018) adapted the dual systems model (Steinberg, Developmental Review 28:78–106, 2008) to children and suggested that risk-taking propensity arises from an imbalance between the overactivation of the child’s socioemotional system (sensation seeking or traits of surgency) and the lower cognitive control system (lack of self-regulation or of effortful control). However, from an intergenerational transmission perspective, it is relevant to consider the role both parents’ and the children’s socioemotional and cognitive control systems have on a child’s risk-taking behaviors. The current longitudinal study is the first to examines sensation seeking and lack of self-regulation in parents in addition to the child’s surgency-effortful control imbalance to understand the child’s risk-taking behaviors. The sample comprised 177 two-parent families (89 boys) observed at two time points (child age ranges: 12–18 months and 24–30 months). Both parents provided sociodemographic information and completed self-reported questionnaires on sensation seeking and self-regulation, child’s temperament and risk-taking behaviors. Results showed that fathers’ higher sensation-seeking and mothers’ lack of self-regulation were associated with higher children’s risk-taking behaviors. After controlling for these parent factors and child sex, child surgency-effortful imbalance was strongly associated with higher children’s risk-taking behaviors. An adapted dual systems model including both parents (sensation seeking and self-regulation) and children (surgency-effortful imbalance) seems a promising avenue to a fuller understanding of children’s risk-taking behaviors.

Bridgett, D. J., Burt, N. M., Edwards, E. S., & Deater-Deckard, K. (2015). Intergenerational transmission of self-regulation: A multidisciplinary review and integrative conceptual framework. Psychological Bulletin, 141(3), 602–654. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038662CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Ciranka, S., & Hertwig, R. (2023). Environmental statistics and experience shape risk-taking across adolescence. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 27(12), 1123–1134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2023.08.020CrossRefPubMed

Ciranka, S., & van den Bos, W. (2021). Adolescent risk-taking in the context of exploration and social influence. Developmental Review, 61, 100979. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2021.100979CrossRef

Conrod, P. J., Castellanos-Ryan, N., & Mackie, C. (2011). Long-term effects of a personality-targeted intervention to reduce alcohol use in adolescents. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 79(3), 296–306. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0022997CrossRefPubMed

Conrod, P. J., Castellanos-Ryan, N., & Strang, J. (2010). Brief, personality-targeted coping skills interventions and survival as a non-drug user over a 2-year period during adolescence. Archive of General Psychiatry, 67(1), 85–93. https://doi.org/10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2009.173CrossRef

Couture, S., Ouimet, M. C., Gianoulakis, C., Tremblay, J., Ng Ying Kin, N. M. K., Brochu, S., Pruessner, J., Dedovic, K., & Brown, T. G. (2015). Lower cortisol activity is associated with first-time driving while impaired. Substance Abuse: Research and Treatment, 9, 25–32. https://doi.org/10.4137/SART.S21353CrossRefPubMed

Cross, C. P., Copping, L. T., & Campbell, A. (2011). Sex differences in impulsivity: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 137(1), 97–130. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021591CrossRefPubMed

Damashek, A. L., Williams, N. A., Sher, K. J., Peterson, L., Lewis, T., & Schweinle, W. (2005). Risk for minor childhood injury: An investigation of maternal and child factors. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 30(6), 469–480. https://doi.org/10.1093/jpepsy/jsi072CrossRefPubMed

Defoe, I. N. (2021). Towards a hybrid criminological and psychological model of risk behavior: The developmental neuro-ecological risk-taking model (DNERM). Developmental Review, 62, 100995. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2021.100995

Defoe, I. N., Dubas, J. S., Figner, B., & van Aken, M. A. G. (2015). A meta-analysis on age differences in risky decision making: Adolescents versus children and adults. Psychological Bulletin, 141(1), 48–84. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0038088CrossRefPubMed

Dvorak, R. D., Simons, J. S., & Wray, T. B. J. (2011). Alcohol use and problem severity: Associations with dual systems of self-control. Journal of Studies on Alcohol and Drugs, 72(4), 678–684. https://doi.org/10.15288/2Fjsad.2011.72.678CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Edalati, H. & Conrod, P. J. (2019). A Review of personality-targeted interventions for prevention of substance misuse and related harm in community samples of adolescents. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 9. https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychiatry/articles/https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2018.00770.

Eisenberg, N., Spinrad, T. L., Fabes, R. A., Reiser, M., Cumberland, A., Shepard, S. A., Valiente, C., Losoya, S. H., Guthrie, I. K., & Thompson, M. (2004). The relations of effortful control and impulsivity to children’s resiliency and adjustment. Child Development, 75(1), 25–46. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2004.00652.xCrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Epstein, L. H., Dearing, K. K., Temple, J. L., & Cavanaugh, M. D. (2008). Food reinforcement and impulsivity in overweight children and their parents. Eating Behaviors, 9(3), 319–327. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eatbeh.2007.10.007CrossRefPubMed

Gallagher, L., Breslin, G., Leavey, G., Curran, E., & Rosato, M. (2023). Determinants of unintentional injuries in preschool age children in high-income countries: A systematic review. Child: Care, Health and Development, 50(1), e13161. https://doi.org/10.1111/cch.13161CrossRefPubMed

Galligan, K. M., & Kuebli, J. E. (2011). Preschoolers’ perceptions of their mothers’ and fathers’ reactions to injury-risk behavior. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 43(4), 1316–1322. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2011.02.001CrossRefPubMed

Granié, M.-A. (2010). Gender stereotype conformity and age as determinants of preschoolers’ injury-risk behaviors. Accident Analysis and Prevention, 42(2), 726–733. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aap.2009.10.022CrossRefPubMed

Hagan, L. K., & Kuebli, J. (2007). Mothers’ and fathers’ socialization of preschoolers’ physical risk taking. Journal of Applied Developmental Pychology, 28(1), 2–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2006.10.007CrossRef

Harden, K. P., Quinn, P. D., & Tucker-Drob, E. M. (2012). Genetically influenced change in sensation seeking drives the rise of delinquent behavior during adolescence. Developmental Science, 15(1), 150–163. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-7687.2011.01115.xCrossRefPubMed

Henschel, S., de Bruin, M., & Möhler, E. (2014). Self-control and child abuse potential in mothers with an abuse history and their preschool children. Journal of Child Family Studies, 23, 824–836. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10826-013-9735-0CrossRef

Hu, L. T., & Bentler, P. M. (1999). Cutoff criteria for fit indexes in covariance structure analysis: Conventional criteria versus new alternatives. Structural Equation Modelling, 6(1), 1–55. https://doi.org/10.1080/10705519909540118CrossRef

Jonas, K., & Kochanska, G. (2018). An imbalance of approach and effortful control predicts externalizing problems: Support for extending the dual-systems model into early childhood. Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 46(8), 1573–1583. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-018-0400-3CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Lydon-Staley, D. M., & Geier, C. F. (2018). Age-varying associations between cigarette smoking, sensation seeking, and impulse control through adolescence and young adulthood. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 28(2), 354–367. https://doi.org/10.1111/jora.12335CrossRefPubMed

Meeus, W., Vollebergh, W., Branje, S., Crocetti, E., Ormel, J., van de Schoot, R., Crone, E. A., & Becht, A. (2021). On imbalance of impulse control and sensation seeking and adolescent risk: An intra-individual developmental test of the dual systems and maturational imbalance models. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 50(5), 827–840. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-021-01419-xCrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Meisel, S. N., Fosco, W. D., Hawk, L. W., & Colder, C. R. (2019). Mind the gap: A review and recommendations for statistically evaluating Dual Systems models of adolescent risk behavior. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 39, 100681. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2019.100681CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Morrongiello, B. A., Corbett, M., Colwell, S., Bryant, L., & Cox, A. (2022). A longitudinal study of boys’ and girls’ injury-risk behaviors and parent supervision during infancy. Infant Behavior and Development, 68, 101729. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infbeh.2022.101729CrossRefPubMed

Morrongiello, B. A., Corbett, M., Lasenby, J., Johnston, N., & McCourt, M. (2006). Factors influencing young children’s risk of unintentional injury: Parenting style and strategies for teaching about home safety. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 27(6), 560–570. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2006.08.004CrossRef

Morrongiello, B. A., & Lasenby-Lessard, J. (2007). Psychological determinants of risk taking by children: An integrative model and implications for interventions. Injury Prevention, 13(1), 20–25. https://doi.org/10.1136/ip.2005.011296CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Morrongiello, B. A., Ondejko, L., & Littlejohn, A. (2004). Understanding toddlers’ in-home injuries: I. context, correlates, and determinants. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 29(6), 415–431. https://doi.org/10.1093/jpepsy/jsh046CrossRefPubMed

Nozadi, S. S., Henderson, H. A., Degnan, K. A., & Fox, N. A. (2020). Longitudinal patterns of anger reactivity and risk-taking: The role of peer-context. Social Development, 29(2), 600–614. https://doi.org/10.1111/sode.12412CrossRefPubMed

Olino, T. M., Durbin, C. E., Klein, D. N., Hayden, E. P., & Dyson, M. W. (2013). Gender differences in temperament. Journal of Personality, 81, 119–129. https://doi.org/10.1111/jopy.12000CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Paquette, D., Macario de Medeiros, J., Bigras, M., Bacro, F., Couture, S., Lemelin, J-P., Cyr, C., & Dubois-Comtois, K. (2022). Father-Child and Mother-Child Relationships as Predictors of Injury-Risk Behaviors in Toddlers. Adversity and Resilience Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42844-022-00068-8

Paquette, D. & Puentes-Neuman, G. (2024). Intervening with fathers and their children from the perspective of the activation relationship. In J. D. Osofsky, H. E. Fitzgerald, M. Keren & K. Puura (Eds.), WAIMH Handbook of Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health: Biopsychosocial Factors (Vol. 1., pp. 275–291). Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-48627-2_17

Paquette, D. (2004). Theorizing the Father-Child Relationship: Mechanisms and Developmental Outcomes. Human Development, 47(4), 193–219. https://doi.org/10.1159/000078723CrossRef

Paquette, D., Gagnon, C., & Macario de Medeiros, J. (2020). Fathers and the activation relationship. In H. E. Fitzgerald, K. von Klitzing, N. J. Cabrera, J. S. de Mendonça, & T. Skjothaug (Eds.), Handbook of Fathers and Child Development: Prenatal to Preschool (pp. 291–313). Springer Press.CrossRef

Peeters, M., Oldehinkel, T., & Vollebergh, W. (2017). Behavioral control and reward sensitivity in adolescents’ risk taking behavior: A longitudinal TRAILS study. Frontiers in Psychology, 8, 231. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2017.00231CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Pfeifer, J. H., & Allen, N. B. (2012). Arrested development? Reconsidering dual-systems models of brain function in adolescence and disorders. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 16(6), 322–329. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2012.04.011CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Putnam, S. P., Jacobs, J. F., Gartstein, M. A., & Rothbart, M. K. (2010, March). Development and assessment of short and very short forms of the Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire [Poster presentation]. International Conference on Infant Studies. http://research.bown.edu/rothbart-temperament-questionnaires/files/2016/08/ICIS_2010_ECBQ_sf_poster.pdf

Putnam, S. P., Gartstein, M. A., & Rothbart, M. K. (2019). Historical background of the study of temperament and new perspectives on assessment. In R. Delcarmen-Wiggins & A. S. Carter (Eds.), The Oxford handbook of infant, toddler, and preschool mental health assessment (2nd ed., pp. 131–156). https://doi.org/10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199837182.013.6

Putnam, S. P., Gartstein, M. A., & Rothbart, M. K. (2006). Measurement of fine-grained aspects of toddler temperament: The Early Childhood Behavior Questionnaire. Infant Behavior & Development, 29, 386–401. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infbeh.2006.01.004CrossRef

Rothbart, M. K. (2007). Temperament, Development, and Personality. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 16, 207–212. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8721.2007.00505.xCrossRef

Salkind, N. (2007). Encyclopedia of Human Development. SAGE Publications Inc. https://doi.org/10.4135/9781412952484CrossRef

Schnitzer, P. G., Dowd, M. D., Kruse, R. L., & Morrongiello, B. A. (2015). Supervision and risk of unintentional injury in young children. Injury Prevention, 21(e1), e63–e70. https://doi.org/10.1136/injuryprev-2013-041128CrossRefPubMed

Schwebel, D. C., & Brezausek, C. M. (2004). The role of fathers in toddlers’ unintentional injury risk. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 29(1), 19–29. https://doi.org/10.1093/jpepsy/jsh003CrossRefPubMed

Schwebel, D. C., & Gaines, J. (2007). Pediatric unintentional injury: Behavioral risk factors and implications for prevention. Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics, 28(3), 245–254. https://doi.org/10.1097/01.DBP.0000268561.80204.2aCrossRef

Shulman, E. P., Smith, A. R., Silva, K., Icenogle, G., Duell, N., Chein, J., & Steinberg, L. (2016). The Dual Systems Model: Review, reappraisal, and reaffirmation. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 17, 103–117. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2015.12.010CrossRefPubMed

Speltz, M. L., Gonzales, N., & Quan, L. (1990). Assessment of injury risk in young children: A preliminary study of the injury behavior checklist. Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 15(3), 373–383. https://doi.org/10.1093/jpepsy/15.3.373CrossRefPubMed

Steinberg, L. (2007). Risk taking in adolescence: New perspectives from brain and behavioral science. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 16(2), 55–59. http://www.jstor.org/stable/20183162

Steinberg, L. (2008). A social neuroscience perspective on adolescent risk-taking. Developmental Review, 28(1), 78–106. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2007.08.002CrossRefPubMed

Steinberg, L. (2010). A Dual Systems Model of Adolescent Risk-Taking. Developmental Psychobiology, 52(3), 216–224. https://doi.org/10.1002/dev.20445CrossRefPubMed

Turner, C., McClure, R., & Pirozzo, S. (2004). Injury and risk-taking behavior—a systematic review. Accident Analysis & Prevention, 36(1), 93–101. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0001-4575(02)00131-8CrossRef

Van der Linden, M., d’Acremont, M., Zermatten, A., Jermann, F., Larøi, F., Willems, S., Juillerat, A.-C., & Bechara, A. (2006). A French adaptation of the UPPS Impulsive Behavior Scale: Confirmatory factor analysis in a sample of undergraduate students. European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 22(1), 38–42. https://doi.org/10.1027/1015-5759.22.1.38CrossRef

Vazsonyi, A. T., & Ksinan, A. J. (2017). Understanding Deviance Through the Dual Systems Model: Converging Evidence for Criminology and Developmental Sciences. Personality and Individual Differences, 111, 58–64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2017.01.030CrossRef

Wesarg-Menzel, C., Ebbes, R., Hensums, M., Wagemaker, E., Zaharieva, M. S., van den Staaks, J. P. C. L., Akker, A., et al. (2023). Development and socialization of self-regulation from infancy to adolescence: A meta-review differentiating between self-regulatory abilities, goals, and motivation. Developmental Review, 69, 101090. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dr.2023.101090CrossRef

West, B. A., Rudd, R. A., Sauber-Schatz, E. K., & Ballesteros, M. F. (2021). Unintentional injury deaths in children and youth, 2010–2019. Journal of Safety Research, 78, 322–330. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsr.2021.07.001CrossRefPubMedPubMedCentral

Whiteside, S. P., & Lynam, D. R. (2001). The Five Factor Model and Impulsivity: Using a Structural Model of Personality to Understand Impulsivity. Personality and Individual Differences, 30(4), 669–689. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-8869(00)00064-7CrossRef

Whiteside, S. P., Lynam, D. R., Miller, J. D., & Reynolds, S. K. (2005). Validation of the UPPS Impulsive Behaviour Scale: A Four-Factor Model of Impulsivity. European Journal of Personality, 19(7), 559–574. https://doi.org/10.1002/per.556CrossRef

Willems, Y. E., Boesen, N., Li, J., Finkenauer, C., & Bartels, M. (2019). The heritability of self-control: A meta-analysis. Neuroscience Biobehavioral Reviews, 100, 324–334. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.02.012CrossRefPubMed

Wojciechowski, T. (2021). Salience of dual systems constructs for predicting stimulant/amphetamine use across adolescence and early adulthood: A mixed effects modeling approach. Journal of Developmental and Life-Course Criminology, 7(4), 676–694. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40865-021-00181-9CrossRef

Zuckerman, M. (1994). Behavioral Expressions and Biosocial Bases of Sensation Seeking. The Cambridge University Press.

Titel: Risk-Taking Behaviors of Young Children: The Role of Children’s and Parents’ Socioemotional and Cognitive Control Systems
Auteurs: Sophie Couture
Daniel Paquette
Marc Bigras
Karine Dubois-Comtois
Jean-Pascal Lemelin
Chantal Cyr
Annie Lemieux
Publicatiedatum: 11-01-2025
Uitgeverij: Springer US
Gepubliceerd in: Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology
Print ISSN: 2730-7166
Elektronisch ISSN: 2730-7174
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-024-01277-8

Bohn Stafleu van Loghum

Deel dit onderdeel of sectie (kopieer de link)

Abstract

Log in om toegang te krijgen