Implicit Measures of Risky Behaviors in Adolescence

Dear Colleagues,

The exploration of adolescence as a pivotal developmental stage reveals a complex interplay of psychological, social, and biological transformations. This period is marked by a heightened inclination towards risk-taking behaviors, which bear significant consequences for adolescents’ future health and well-being. Traditionally, the understanding of these behaviors has been largely based on explicit measures and self-reporting techniques. However, a shift in research paradigms has come to emphasize the substantial influence of implicit processes on adolescent behavior.

Implicit processes operate beneath the conscious level of awareness, influencing decision-making and actions without deliberate intention or control, and these unconscious mechanisms have been increasingly recognized for their role in guiding risk-related behaviors among adolescents beyond the consolidated notion of the imbalance between the maturation of prefrontal cortex, responsible for decision-making and impulse control, and the limbic system, which regulates emotion and reward processing.

Research on the implicit theories of adolescents, such as beliefs about the malleability of personal traits, revealed that these cognitive frameworks can predict responses to peer conflicts and desires for vengeance, thereby influencing risk-related behaviors. Additionally, the role of implicit processes in the context of substance use has been explored, with studies indicating that automatic behavioral tendencies toward alcohol-related stimuli and weak inhibition skills are associated with higher levels of alcohol use among adolescents. This highlights the interplay between implicit processes and individual differences in response inhibition, further elucidating the mechanisms underlying risk-taking behaviors in adolescence.

Dr. Ileana Di Pomponio
Dr. Luca Cerniglia
Dr. Silvia Cimino
Guest Editors

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• adolescence
• risk factors
• risky behaviors
• risk-taking
• implicit measure
• IAT