Research Background

Adolescence is a cultural phenomenon that results from a social and historical milieu (Steinberg, 1996). Youth marks the intersection of drive, discipline, energy, irrationality, and courage (Erikson, 1965). Youth is a time when one must negotiate conformity with deviance, and rededication with rebellion (Erikson, 1959, 1965).

Adolescence is a life stage characterized by biological, social, and cognitive developmental transitions and tasks. Some of the developmental tasks of adolescence in the United States include: adapting to pubertal changes, redefining the parent-child relationship, school transitions, clarifying educational and career goals, learning to think more abstractly, spending more time with peers and less time with family, and developing intimate relationships (Steinberg, 1996).

Risk-taking behaviors can also be viewed as critical for young people negotiating adolescence. It is not coincidental that participation in risky behaviors, such as binge drinking, increases at the same time that young people are negotiating these multiple transitions (Schulenberg & Maggs, 2002). During this time, adolescents experiment with new behaviors and values, testing the limits established by parents. Rates of participation in certain risk-taking behaviors, such as alcohol use, as well as the finding that participation in such behaviors often accompanies positive developmental outcomes, supports the contention that a certain level of risk-taking is normative for young people (Baumrind, 1985; Schulenberg, Maggs, & Hurrelmann, 1997; Shedler & Block, 1990).

Consequently, to fully understand risk during adolescence, we must recognize and consider both risks and opportunities. What is a risk during adolescence may later become an opportunity; and what may appear to be a health risk may be interpreted as an opportunity from the adolescent's perspective (Schulenberg et al., 1997). Further, health-promoting behaviors during adolescence are likely to result in long-term benefits (Maggs, Schulenberg, & Hurrelmann, 1997). Thus, promoting healthy exploration is essential.

The present research project is designed to move research further away from a deficit model of youth behavior that focuses on the problems of youth, and preventing the development of undesirable characteristics, and towards a model that seeks to consider when exploration and risk-taking can facilitate optimal development. To contribute to this burgeoning area of research, the present investigation focuses on youths' ability and desire to exploration and take risks as two critical characteristics we hope young people will develop.