Do risks matter? Variable and person-centered approaches to adolescents' problem behavior

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Author(s)
Modecki, Kathryn Lynn
Griffith University Author(s)
Year published
2016
Metadata
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Two limitations in research examining adolescents' risk cognitions have been the absence of developmental age group comparisons on a breadth of cognitions and the need to better characterize how cognitions influence behavior. To address these limitations, this study compared adolescent (n = 205; 52% female) and young adult (n = 274; 58% female) risk cognitions (risk probability, risk identification, risk tolerance, risk salience, and risk preference) and used variable- and person-centered approaches to explore how cognitions affect problem behavior. Adolescents generally reported lower risk-related cognitions than young ...
View more >Two limitations in research examining adolescents' risk cognitions have been the absence of developmental age group comparisons on a breadth of cognitions and the need to better characterize how cognitions influence behavior. To address these limitations, this study compared adolescent (n = 205; 52% female) and young adult (n = 274; 58% female) risk cognitions (risk probability, risk identification, risk tolerance, risk salience, and risk preference) and used variable- and person-centered approaches to explore how cognitions affect problem behavior. Adolescents generally reported lower risk-related cognitions than young adults. Further, risk probability, the cognition typically assessed in research, did not exert an independent effect on behavior. Adolescents and young adults were characterized by two similar cognition profiles, but only adolescents were characterized by a third, maladaptive profile, Low Identification/High Preference, reflecting low risk identification and risk salience and high risk preference. Interventions should arguably target these three cognitions within at-risk youth.
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View more >Two limitations in research examining adolescents' risk cognitions have been the absence of developmental age group comparisons on a breadth of cognitions and the need to better characterize how cognitions influence behavior. To address these limitations, this study compared adolescent (n = 205; 52% female) and young adult (n = 274; 58% female) risk cognitions (risk probability, risk identification, risk tolerance, risk salience, and risk preference) and used variable- and person-centered approaches to explore how cognitions affect problem behavior. Adolescents generally reported lower risk-related cognitions than young adults. Further, risk probability, the cognition typically assessed in research, did not exert an independent effect on behavior. Adolescents and young adults were characterized by two similar cognition profiles, but only adolescents were characterized by a third, maladaptive profile, Low Identification/High Preference, reflecting low risk identification and risk salience and high risk preference. Interventions should arguably target these three cognitions within at-risk youth.
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Journal Title
Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology
Volume
42
Copyright Statement
© 2015 The Author. Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license
(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/) which permits unrestricted, non-commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, providing that the work is properly cited.
Subject
Psychology not elsewhere classified
Psychology
Cognitive Sciences