The Relationship Between Youth Risk-Taking Behaviour and Activity Engagement

Youth have been found to engage in various risk-taking behaviours at higher rates than any other age group. However, there is a lack of research on the division between adaptive and maladaptive risk behaviours among adolescents and emerging adults. Adaptive risk-taking behaviours may present youth with ways to successfully partake in the risk behaviours that they are naturally inclined to engage in. The relationship between activity engagement and positive youth development has been extensively studied and cited as a way to expose youth to positive experiences and promote successful development. However, the relationship between activity engagement and risk behaviours among youth has yetto be studied in depth. This study investigated the potential relationship between various adaptive and maladaptive risk behaviours and activity engagement among youth, through an indirect link through five mediator variables. These potential mediators represented the three systems in Jessor's Problem Behaviour Theory. Participants included 276 youth (M = 19.06 years, SD = 1.60, 89.1 % female) from Brock University. Results revealed that activity engagement significantly predicted greater adaptive social risk behaviours among youth. However, there was no mediating effect through the problem behaviour systems. Correlations revealed that being male was associated with more maladaptive risk behaviours and fewer adaptive risk behaviours than females. Additionally, behavioural engagement specifically related to less maladaptive physical health risks and psychological engagement related to greater adaptive social risks. Overall, these findings suggest that activity engagement may be differentially related to the various types of risk-taking and gender associations may exist between the various types and dimensions of risk behaviours, but future work is needed to understand the variables that may· explain such relationships. RUNNING HEAD: Risk-taking and activity engagement III ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my Master's thesis supervisor, Dr. Linda Rose-Krasnor, for her dedicated assistance and guidance throughout the completion of this thesis. The opportunity to work with her and become familiar with activity engagement and positive youth development has been an amazing experience and has already opened numerous doors for me in the applied research field. I would like to thank Dr. Heather Chalmers for her continued support and valued feedback, as well as Dr. Teena Willoughby for her insightful perspective on the project and on risk-taking in general. I would like to thank Dr. Heather Lawford, Dr. Heather Ramey and Chloe Hamza for their guidance throughout this project. I would also like to thank Dr. Philip Groff and. Dr. Mary Desrocher for their continued support and leadership throughout my academic and career endeavors. Additionally, I thank my parents for always offering unwavering support and guidance. I would like to express my appreciation to Dr. Nancy DeCourville for her direction and insight on the statistical analyses that were implemented in this project. A special thanks to Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada for their support and fmancial assistance. RUNNING HEAD: Risk-taking and activity engagement IV TABLE OF CONTENTS Overview . 1 Types of Risk-Taking . 2 Dimensions of Risk-Taking . 3 Development of Risk-Taking . 5 Models of Risk-Taking . 7 Links Between Engagement and Risk-Taking . 9 Mechanisms for Engagement . 11 The Present Study and Overall Research Question . 12 Behaviour System . 13 Activity Engagement, Academic Performance and Risk-Taking . 13 Perceived Environment System . 15 Activity Engagement, Positive Peer Role Models and Risk-Taking . 15 Personality System . 17 Activity Engagement, Valuing Social Relationships and Risk-Taking . 17 Summary . 18 Method . 19 Participants . 19 Procedure . 21 Measures . 21 Demographics . 21 Physical Health and Social Risk-Taking . 23 Engagement Dimensions . 24 Potential Mediators . 25 RUNNING HEAD: Risk-taking and activity engagement v Academic Performance (Behaviour System) . 25 Value on Social Relationships (Personality System) . 26 Positive Peer Role Models (Perceived Environment System) . 27 Social Desirability . : . 28 Data Analysis . 28 Mediation Model . 29 Results . 33 Preliminary Analyses . 33 Missing Values . 35 Correlations . 36 Associations with Gender . 38 Residuals . 38 Primary Analyses . 39 Adaptive Physical Health Risk-Taking . 40 Maladaptive Physical Health Risk-Taking . 43 Adaptive Social Risk-Taking . 45 Maladaptive Social Risk-Taking . 48 Discussion . 51 Associations with Gender . 52 Adaptive Physical Health Risk-Taking . ~ . 52 Maladaptive Physical Health Risk-Taking . 52 Adaptive Social Risk-Taking . 53 Maladaptive Social Risk-Taking . 53 RUNNING HEAD: Risk-taking and activity engagement VI Summary of Associations with Gender . 53 Associations with Age . 54 Risk-Taking Frequencies . 55 Direct Relationship Between Activity Engagement and Risk-Taking . 56 Adaptive Physical Health Risk-Taking . 56 Maladaptive Physical Health Risk-Taking . 57 Adaptive Social Risk-Taking . 59 Maladaptive Social Risk-Taking . 59 Supplemental Finding .