Cited by 516Neural and Behavioral Psychology StudiesChild and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional DevelopmentPsychological and Educational Research Studies

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 48 of the 48 references it cites were found in a registry or an index; none of the 30 sources its claims cite is checked for support yet.

Around the world, adolescence is a time of heightened sensation seeking and immature self-regulation.

Open access

Abstract

The dual systems model of adolescent risk‐taking portrays the period as one characterized by a combination of heightened sensation seeking and still‐maturing self‐regulation, but most tests of this model have been conducted in the United States or Western Europe. In the present study, these propositions are tested in an international sample of more than 5000 individuals between ages 10 and 30 years from 11 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas, using a multi‐method test battery that includes both self‐report and performance‐based measures of both constructs. Consistent with the dual systems model, sensation seeking increased between preadolescence and late adolescence, peaked at age 19, and declined thereafter, whereas self‐regulation increased steadily from preadolescence into young adulthood, reaching a plateau between ages 23 and 26. Although there were some variations in the magnitude of the observed age trends, the developmental patterns were largely similar across countries.

Overview

AI snapshot

Written from the paper’s full text.

TL;DR

This cross-sectional, 11-country study finds that sensation seeking follows an inverted-U pattern, peaking around age 19, while self-regulation increases into the mid-20s and then plateaus. The broad developmental patterns are largely similar across countries, supporting central predictions of the dual systems model.

Key findings

  • In the full sample, sensation seeking increased across adolescence, peaked at age 19, and declined thereafter (linear age \(b = 0.35\), \(SE = 0.15\), \(p = .02\); quadratic age \(b = -0.19\), \(SE = 0.03\), \(p < .001\)); from ages 20 to 30 it decreased significantly (\(b = -2.00\), \(SE = 0.47\), \(p < .001\)).
  • Self-regulation increased until the early-to-mid-20s (linear age \(b = 2.60\), \(SE = 0.15\), \(p < .001\); quadratic age \(b = -0.20\), \(SE = 0.03\), \(p < .001\)), peaked at age 24, and did not change significantly after age 25 (\(b = -0.77\), \(SE = 1.40\), \(p = .59\)).
  • Country differences were significant for both composites (sensation seeking \(\Delta\chi^2(20) = 46.91\), \(p < .05\); self-regulation \(\Delta\chi^2(20) = 95.76\), \(p < .05\)), but most deviations were differences in degree rather than shape.
  • Sensation seeking showed a significant inverted-U pattern in 7 of 11 countries; self-regulation increased significantly with age in 9 of 11 countries, with no systematic age variation in India and Jordan.

Methods

  • Cross-sectional multinational sample: final analytic \(N = 5,105\) participants aged 10–30 from 11 countries (China, Colombia, Cyprus, India, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, the Philippines, Sweden, Thailand, and the US); initial sample \(N = 5,404\).
  • Multi-method battery: sensation-seeking composite from modified Iowa Gambling Task, 6-item self-reported sensation seeking, and Stoplight game; self-regulation composite from Stroop task, self-reported planning, and Tower of London task.
  • Analyses used regression with age and age-squared terms, controlling for parental education and WASI Matrix Reasoning scores, plus multiple-group structural equation models to test country differences; missing data handled with FIML and bootstrapped standard errors.

Limitations

  • Stated: recruitment via flyers, schools, ads, and word of mouth meant the authors could not determine whether respondents differed from nonrespondents; they also declined post hoc explanations for unexpected country-level deviations.
  • Stated: computerized WASI scores may not be comparable to traditionally administered WASI scores.
  • Evident: the cross-sectional design cannot establish within-person developmental change, and measurement invariance was tested only for the self-report scales, not the behavioral tasks.

Model-written summary. Check it against the paper before relying on it.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1111/desc.12532

Cites

48 of 48 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Verification

Claims the paper makes

0 of 30 cited sources checked · 0 supported · 0 flagged

Show all 46 claims

  • It may state two separate claims as one. 23
  • Probably not a substantial claim. 24
44 of 44
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    Developmental changes and age differences in sensation seeking and self-regulation are linked to changes in brain structure and function that are universal or near-universal features of adolescent development.

    “On the one hand, the dual systems view derives explicitly from a neurobiological perspective on adolescence that links developmental changes and age differences in sensation seeking and self-regulation to changes in brain structure and function that are assumed to be universal (or near-universal) features of adolescent development (Spear, 2013).”
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    Normative maturation of crucial structures of cognitive control systems, such as the lateral prefrontal cortex, plays a significant role in the development of self-regulation between childhood and adulthood.

    “Still, normative maturation of crucial structures of these systems, such as the lateral prefrontal cortex, is assumed to play a significant role in the development of self-regulation between childhood and adulthood (Casey, 2015).”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Age differences observed in this cross-sectional study reflect developmental change rather than cohort effects.

    “The current paper presents the findings of a cross-sectional, multinational, multi-method study of behavioral and psychological development during the second two decades of life in a sample of approximately 5,000 individuals.”
    “Using self-report and behavioral measures, we investigated age differences in sensation seeking and self-regulation.”
  • The authors state this as an assumption.

    Within the broad categories of sensation seeking and self-regulation, constructs measured at different levels of analysis or using different methods are often only weakly correlated, but the overarching categories provide helpful heuristics.

    “We recognize that, within these broad categories, constructs measured at different levels of analysis, or using different methods, are often only weakly correlated (i.e., it is common to find low correlations between self-report and behavioral measures of putatively similar constructs), but we believe that the overarching categories provide helpful heuristics.”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    Cross-sectional age differences in the sample reflect developmental change with age.

    “Overall, our findings indicate that the developmental patterns in sensation seeking and self-regulation observed previously in American and Western European samples are found in other parts of the world as well”
  • The paper relies on this without support.

    The eleven countries studied are sufficiently representative of the world's cultural and economic diversity to support global conclusions about adolescence.

    “Around the world, adolescence is a time when individuals are inclined to pursue exciting and novel experiences but have not yet fully developed the capacity to keep impulsive behavior in check.”
6 of 6

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

Statistics recomputed

Every reported test result, recomputed from its test statistic and degrees of freedom. A result shows as not adding up only once an independent check has confirmed it.

  • Consistentχ²(20) = 46.91reported p < .05 · recomputed p < .001

    “χ2(20) = 46.91, p < .05”

  • Consistentχ²(20) = 95.76reported p < .05 · recomputed p < .001

    “χ2(20) = 95.76, p < .05”

2 of 2

Self-check

Percentages, sums and reported differences re-computed from the paper’s own numbers.

Each contradiction between two passages listed here was confirmed by an independent check.

  • Jordan's reported trend has the opposite direction

    Minor

    The text describes Jordan's self-regulation trend as an increase, but its reported age coefficient is negative, indicating a decrease.

1 of 1

Citations

Cites

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Show all 48 references

Research works printed but not linked: 1

  1. Maxwell B., 1996, Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) Technical Report: Vol. I. Design and Development, 1

Cited by

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Metadata

Authors
Steinberg, L., Icenogle, G., Shulman, E. P., Breiner, K., Chein, J., Bacchini, D., Chang, L., Chaudhary, N., Giunta, L. D., Dodge, K. A., Fanti, K. A., Lansford, J. E., Malone, P. S., Oburu, P., Pastorelli, C., Skinner, A. T., Sorbring, E., Tapanya, S., Tirado, L. M. U., Alampay, L. P., Al‐Hassan, S. M., & Takash, H. M. S.
Affiliations
  • King Abdulaziz University (SA)
  • Temple University (US)
  • Brock University (CA)
  • University of California, Los Angeles (US)
  • University of Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli" (IT)
  • University of Macau (MO)
  • University of Delhi (IN)
  • Sapienza University of Rome (IT)
  • Duke University (US)
  • University of Cyprus (CY)
  • Maseno University (KE)
  • University West (SE)
  • Chiang Mai University (TH)
  • Consultorio Psicológico Popular Universidad San Buenaventura Cali Columbia
  • Ateneo de Manila University (PH)
  • Hashemite University (JO)
Corresponding author
Steinberg, Laurence
Venue
Developmental Science
Publisher
Wiley
Published
2017-02
Volume
21
Issue
2
ISSN
  • 1363-755X (ISSN-L)
  • 1467-7687
OpenAlex
W2585258968
Cited by
514
References
48
Citations by year
2026: 44 · 2025: 68 · 2024: 73 · 2023: 55 · 2022: 41 · 2021: 72 · 2020: 82 · 2019: 36 · 2018: 23 · 2017: 18
FWCI
24.95
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Developmental Science (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • DukeSpace (Duke University) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
  • Archivio Istituzionale della Ricerca - Università degli Studi della Campania "Luigi Vanvitelli" (submittedVersion)
  • IRIS Research product catalog (Sapienza University of Rome) (submittedVersion)
Funders
Klaus J. Jacobs Foundation
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Psychological and Educational Research Studies
Keywords
sensation seeking, self-regulation, dual systems model, adolescent risk-taking, developmental trajectories, cross-cultural comparison, late childhood, early adulthood, age trends, performance-based measures
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Adolescent Behavior, Adult, Child, Female, Humans, Impulsive Behavior, Male, Risk-Taking, Sensation, United States, Adolescent Development, Young Adult, Self Report

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