| Title |
Can Adolescents Learn Self-control? Delay of Gratification in the Development of Control over Risk Taking
|
|---|---|
| Published in |
Prevention Science, March 2010
|
| DOI | 10.1007/s11121-010-0171-8 |
| Pubmed ID | |
| Authors |
Daniel Romer, Angela L. Duckworth, Sharon Sznitman, Sunhee Park |
| Abstract |
Recent findings from developmental neuroscience suggest that the adolescent brain is too immature to exert control over impulsive drives, such as sensation seeking, that increase during adolescence. Using a discounting of delayed reward paradigm, this research examines the ability to delay gratification as a potential source of control over risk-taking tendencies that increase during adolescence. In addition, it explores the role of experience resulting from risk taking as well as future time perspective as contributors to the development of this ability. In a nationally representative sample (n = 900) of young people aged 14-22, a structural equation analysis shows that risk taking as assessed by use of three popular drugs (tobacco, marijuana, and alcohol) is inversely related to the ability to delay gratification. The relation is robust across gender, age, and different levels of sensation seeking. In addition, high sensation seekers exhibit dramatic age-related increase in delay of gratification, lending support to the hypothesis that engaging in risky behavior provides experience that leads to greater patience for long-term rewards. The findings support the conclusion that a complete understanding of the development of self-control must consider individual differences not easily explained by universal trends in brain maturation. |
X Demographics
The data shown below were collected from the profiles of 6 X users who shared this research output. Click here to find out more about how the information was compiled.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 1 | 17% |
| South Africa | 1 | 17% |
| Canada | 1 | 17% |
| Unknown | 3 | 50% |
Demographic breakdown
| Type | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Members of the public | 5 | 83% |
| Science communicators (journalists, bloggers, editors) | 1 | 17% |
Mendeley readers
The data shown below were compiled from readership statistics for 464 Mendeley readers of this research output. Click here to see the associated Mendeley record.
Geographical breakdown
| Country | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| United States | 13 | 3% |
| United Kingdom | 3 | <1% |
| Canada | 2 | <1% |
| Switzerland | 2 | <1% |
| Korea, Republic of | 1 | <1% |
| Italy | 1 | <1% |
| South Africa | 1 | <1% |
| Australia | 1 | <1% |
| Germany | 1 | <1% |
| Other | 4 | <1% |
| Unknown | 435 | 94% |
Demographic breakdown
| Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Student > Ph. D. Student | 106 | 23% |
| Student > Bachelor | 58 | 13% |
| Researcher | 57 | 12% |
| Student > Master | 53 | 11% |
| Student > Doctoral Student | 43 | 9% |
| Other | 67 | 14% |
| Unknown | 80 | 17% |
| Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
|---|---|---|
| Psychology | 229 | 49% |
| Social Sciences | 51 | 11% |
| Business, Management and Accounting | 16 | 3% |
| Medicine and Dentistry | 13 | 3% |
| Neuroscience | 13 | 3% |
| Other | 43 | 9% |
| Unknown | 99 | 21% |
Attention Score in Context
This research output has an Altmetric Attention Score of 17. This is our high-level measure of the quality and quantity of online attention that it has received. This Attention Score, as well as the ranking and number of research outputs shown below, was calculated when the research output was last mentioned on 02 May 2024.
All research outputs
#2,200,775
of 25,832,559 outputs
Outputs from Prevention Science
#131
of 1,157 outputs
Outputs of similar age
#7,814
of 104,505 outputs
Outputs of similar age from Prevention Science
#1
of 8 outputs
Altmetric has tracked 25,832,559 research outputs across all sources so far. Compared to these this one has done particularly well and is in the 91st percentile: it's in the top 10% of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric.
So far Altmetric has tracked 1,157 research outputs from this source. They typically receive a lot more attention than average, with a mean Attention Score of 11.5. This one has done well, scoring higher than 88% of its peers.
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We're also able to compare this research output to 8 others from the same source and published within six weeks on either side of this one. This one has scored higher than all of them