The Relationship between Risk-Taking and Adolescent Pubertal Status

While there are a number of social theories for increased risk-taking in adolescence, certain biological theories suggest an evolutionary component for adolescent risk-taking. It has been suggested that biological brain changes associated with puberty may play a role in such increases (Spear, 2000), as well as decreases in fear levels. The current study examines whether adolescent pubertal status is related to their levels of temperamental surgency, a construct encompassing individual differences in high intensity pleasure, fear, and shyness. Ninety middle school students in the Western United States (38 males and 52 females) ranging from age 11.5 – 14.5 (mean = 13.1) completed self-report measures of pubertal status and surgency. Results indicate that adolescent levels of surgency increase as pubertal status increases. Age, however, was not significantly associated with surgency levels. These results suggest that biology (specifically puberty) may be a significant factor in adolescent behavior. Future research should seek to employ improved measures of adolescent pubertal status as well as risk-taking behavior.