In line with the goal of limiting health risk behaviors in adolescence, a growing literature investigates whether individual differences in functional brain responses can be related to vulnerability to engage in risky decision-making. We review this body of work, investigate when and in what way findings converge, and provide best practice recommendations. We identified 23 studies that examined...

Healthy risk-taking is a normal part of adolescence. Young people who participate in multiple risk-taking increase the chance of damaging their health. There appears to be a growing range and prevalence of health-risk behaviours among young women, notably in their use of alcohol and marijuana. Research suggests that such health-risk behaviours may be related to psychological factors such as str...

Religiosity and participation in religious activities have been linked with decreased risky behavior. In the current research, we hypothesized that exposure to the concept of God can actually increase people's willingness to engage in certain types of risks. Across seven studies, reminders of God increased risk taking in nonmoral domains. This effect was mediated by the perceived danger of a ri...

Recent work has shown that the same neural circuitry that typically underlies risky behaviors also contributes to prosocial behaviors. Despite the striking overlap between two seemingly distinct behavioral patterns, little is known about how risk taking and prosociality interact and inform adolescent decision making. We review literature on adolescent brain development as it pertains to risk ta...

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2015.02.024 0003-3472/© 2015 The Association for the Study of A The trade-off between starvation and predation risk is of paramount importance to songbirds and many other small organisms. A contaminant with metabolic or neurological effects may hinder a bird's ability to manage these ecological risks, which are contingent on metabolic state and require cognit...

UNLABELLED Objective. To examine risk taking behaviours associated with alcohol consumption amongst UK undergraduate students. DESIGN AND METHODS A cross-sectional web survey was used to assess attitudes and health behaviours. The survey included the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT). Students were also asked about why they drank alcohol; about their preferred alcoholic bevera...

INTRODUCTION AND AIMS There is substantial research showing that low socioeconomic position is a predictor of negative outcomes from alcohol consumption, while alcohol consumption itself does not exhibit a strong social gradient. This study aims to examine socioeconomic differences in self-reported alcohol-related risk-taking behaviour to explore whether differences in risk-taking while drinkin...

Humans adapt their risk-taking behaviour based on perceptions of safety; this risk compensation phenomenon is typified by people taking more risks when using protective equipment. Existing studies have looked at people who know they are using safety equipment, and have specifically examined changes in behaviours against which that equipment might reduce risk. We demonstrate risk-taking increase...

Humans adapt their risk-taking behaviour based on perceptions of safety; this risk compensation phenomenon is typified by people taking more risks when using protective equipment. Existing studies have looked at people who know they are using safety equipment, and have specifically examined changes in behaviours against which that equipment might reduce risk. We demonstrate risk-taking increase...

The evolution of Earth's climate on geological timescales is largely driven by variations in the magnitude of total solar irradiance (TSI) and changes in the greenhouse gas content of the atmosphere. Here we show that the slow ∼50 Wm-2 increase in TSI over the last ∼420 million years (an increase of ∼9 Wm-2 of radiative forcing) was almost completely negated by a long-term decline in atmospheri...