June 6, 2012

BSSR Lecture Series: Positive and Negative Reinforcement Underlying Adolescent Risk-Taking Behavior

Adolescent risk taking presents a significant public health concern. The continued development of intervention approaches requires assessment strategies that can elucidate the processes underlying risk taking as it develops through adolescence. This presentation focuses on the use of behavioral measures to understand and model the development of adolescent risk taking behavior. Data are drawn from multiple sources including a 5 year longitudinal study funded by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) focused on the role of positive reinforcement and a second study funded by the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) extending this work to negative reinforcement processes. The presentation will conclude with a consideration of limitations of behavioral assessment approaches as well as future directions aimed at their combination with environmental, genetic, and neurobehavioral assessment.