Positive and Negative Risk-Taking in Adolescence and Early Adulthood: A Citizen Science Study During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

Sensation seeking is an important underlying factor of both positive and negative forms of risk-taking during adolescence and early adulthood. However, macro-factors such as the global COVID-19 pandemic may influence sensation seeking opportunities and risk-taking behaviors that are considered negative and positive. Therefore, the primary aim of this study was to examine the associations between sensation seeking and behaviors that are considered positive or negative forms of risk-taking during the Covid-19 pandemic in a sample of adolescents and early adults (N = 660, Mage = 22.91, SD = 3.14). Using citizen science methods, negative risk-taking was defined as taking unaccepted risks, such as falsifying vaccination reports or deliberately contracting COVID-19. Positive risk-taking was defined as taking socially accepted risks, such as balancing between the risk to infect elderly people and the need to socialize with peers. Results showed that participants with higher levels of sensation seeking took more positive and negative COVID-19 related risks. An additional finding was that sensation seeking was positively associated with the need to contribute to society. This indicates that during adolescence and early adulthood, sensation seeking may be a driving factor for both positive (i.e., socially accepted) and negative (i.e., socially unaccepted) risk-taking in the context of a high-stake global pandemic, arguing against a one-direction negative relation between sensation seeking and risk-taking.

Challenging stereotypes of teens: Reframing adolescence as window of opportunity.

“…Research shows that self-disclosure in youth recruits brain regions observed in risk taking—the VS and PFC (Vijayakumar & Pfeifer, 2020), suggesting positive and negative risk taking share some overlapping neural correlates in adolescents. Similarly, recent evidence suggests that positive and negative risk taking may share similar developmental mechanisms such that both positive (e.g., socializing with peers during COVID-19) and negative risk-taking behaviors (e.g., falsifying vaccination reports) are associated with sensation seeking in adolescents (Te Brinke et al, 2022). Thus, the tendency to seek out thrilling experiences may lead adolescents to engage in negative risks in some instances but positive risks in others.…”

“…Indeed, many socially unacceptable risks (e.g., reckless driving, unsafe sexual behaviors) are perceived as negative, as they incur many health-related consequences. However, not all risk taking is negative; instead, adolescents may engage in risky behaviors that are positive, prosocial (see Do et al, 2017; Te Brinke et al, 2022) and have beneficial developmental outcomes (see Duell & Steinberg, 2019). Positive risks are considered those that are socially acceptable and do not incur health-related consequences, such as trying out for a challenging sport (Duell & Steinberg, 2019).…”

“…Indeed, even behaviors that are framed as negative (e.g., risk-taking) might have positive effects in adolescence and into adulthood (e.g., autonomy, prosociality). For instance, recent empirical findings show that sensation seeking during adolescence is positively associated with teens’ motivation to contribute to society (Blankenstein et al, 2020; Te Brinke et al, 2022). In addition, brain systems representing positive and negative behaviors are not bifurcated in adolescents, implying a promising intervention opportunity to redirect negative outcomes toward positive ones.…”

A perspective on enhancing representative samples in developmental human neuroscience: Connecting science to society

“…A second method for connecting science to society is by taking the views and opinions of adolescents from diverse backgrounds actively into account through citizen science. Citizen science is a method in which adolescents are engaged as "citizens" in research projects rather than research participants (Te Brinke et al, 2022). By engaging in citizen science, researchers can learn from youth themselves.…”

“…Co-creation is a specific form of citizen science were researchers and citizens collaborate in the development of a tool, measurement, or design. Within developmental psychology, researchers are gaining more experiencing in how to effectively work with youth at different stages of the empirical cycle, including developing measurement materials (Te Brinke et al, 2022). For instance, adolescents can actively engage in the creation of a new questionnaire or survey, by sharing ideas and providing feedback on the duration, types of questions or the language use.…”