Adolescent risk-taking behavior has been implicated as a direct cause of undesirable health consequences for this age group, including accidents, injuries, and even death. In addition, risk-taking behavior initiated by adolescents is a major public health concern as such behavior can potentially place other members of society in danger. Adolescents diagnosed with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) evidence a high rate of risk-taking behavior and are overrepresented in criminal justice systems. In order to understand why risk-taking behavior occurs and to develop effective preventative interventions, it is important to understand the factors contributing to the development of risk-taking behavior among different populations of adolescents. While much research has focused on the underlying mechanisms of risk-taking behavior in typically developing adolescents, little research has been conducted in adolescents with FASDs. Decision- making ability is a necessary skill for avoidance of risk-taking behavior, and cognitive functioning as well as emotional and social contextual cues present in the decision-making environment are postulated as relevant components of adaptive decision-making. One neurobehavioral theory of adolescent risk-taking suggests that risky decision-making is the result of a developmental timing gap between the maturation of socio- emotional regions of the brain and regions of .the brain responsible for cognitive control functions. While previous studies suggest that risk-taking behavior in typically developing adolescents is likely related to emotional and social cues present in the environment (rather than to deficits in cognitive control), studies of adolescents with FASDs suggest that risk-taking in this population may be the result of an underdeveloped cognitive control network. The overarching goal of the proposed study is to characterize mechanisms of risk-taking behavior in adolescents with and without FASDs, in order to improve interventions aimed at the reduction of risk-taking behavior and resulting consequences. To accomplish this goal, this application proposes to assess two groups of adolescents: 1) typically-developing adolescents, and 2) adolescents with FASDs.
The specific aims of this proposal are to: 1) examine neural functional patterns associated with risk- taking decision-making during an fMRI task, and 2) to examine the contributions of cognitive, emotional, and social factors to variance in self-reported risk-taking behavior in both groups of adolescents. This project is directly relevant to public health concerns surrounding adolescent risk-taking behavior and the effects of prenatal alcohol exposure. An improved understanding of factors associated with adolescent risk-taking will ultimately lead to improved, better tailored interventions, which will lead to greater success in the prevention of negative health consequences.
