Risks and rewards in adolescent decision-making

Current Opinion in Psychology, vol. 48, pp. 101457

Abstract

Adolescent decision-making has been characterized as risky, and a heightened reward sensitivity may be one of the aspects contributing to riskier choice-behavior. Previous studies have targeted reward-sensitivity in adolescence and the neurobiological mechanisms of reward processing in the adolescent brain. In recent examples, researchers aim to disentangle the contributions of risk- and reward-sensitivity to adolescent risk-taking. Here, we discuss recent findings of adolescent's risk preferences and the associated neural mechanisms. We highlight potential frameworks that target individual differences in risk preferences in an effort to understand adolescent risk-taking, and with an ultimate goal of leveraging undesirable levels of risk taking.

Authors 3

1. Anna C. K. van Duijvenvoorde corresponding Aachen Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Leiden University, Dept of Developmental and Educational Psychology, Wassenaarseweg 52, 2333 AK Leiden, the Netherlands; Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, the Netherlands. Electronic address: a.c.k.van.duijvenvoorde@fsw.leidenuniv.nl

   Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, the Netherlands

   Leiden University, Dept of Developmental and Educational Psychology, Wassenaarseweg 52, 2333 AK Leiden, the Netherlands

2. Jorien van Hoorn Aachen Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology

   Leiden University · Levvel

   Affiliation as printed

   Leiden University, Dept of Developmental and Educational Psychology, Wassenaarseweg 52, 2333 AK Leiden, the Netherlands; Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, the Netherlands; Levvel, Academic Center for Child- and Adolescent Psychiatry, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

   Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, the Netherlands

   Leiden University, Dept of Developmental and Educational Psychology, Wassenaarseweg 52, 2333 AK Leiden, the Netherlands

   Levvel, Academic Center for Child- and Adolescent Psychiatry, Amsterdam, the Netherlands

3. Neeltje E. Blankenstein Aachen Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology

   Leiden University

   Affiliation as printed

   Leiden University, Dept of Developmental and Educational Psychology, Wassenaarseweg 52, 2333 AK Leiden, the Netherlands; Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, the Netherlands

   Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, the Netherlands

   Leiden University, Dept of Developmental and Educational Psychology, Wassenaarseweg 52, 2333 AK Leiden, the Netherlands