Poster #24 - A new look at age, gender, and risk level in 4- to 8-year-old children's risk-taking

• In Event: 2-055 - Poster Session 06
  In Poster Session: PS 06 Section - Cognitive Processes

Integrative Statement

Engaging in risk-taking behavior can foster children’s learning and confidence but also result in injuries. It is thus essential to understand both how children perceive danger and their tendencies to take risks. The extant literature on risk in young children is limited and offers mixed results for age and gender. For example, one study with 6- to 10-year-old children found only gender differences in perception of only high-risk activities (Morrongiello & Rennie, 1998). In contrast, a study examining 4- to 7-year-olds’ risk perception and risk-taking found age (but not gender) differences in perception, and gender (but not age) differences in risk-taking suggesting risk perception does not necessarily correspond to risk-taking (Boles et al., 2005). These disparate findings raise the questions of whether risk-taking and perception in a given situation would correspond and if varying levels of risk would produce different responses. The present study assessed both risk-taking and perception using the same task.
We created novel outdoor activities varying in level of risk to examine risk perception and risk-taking in 122 4- to 8-year-old children (60 girls; 62 boys). To assess risk perception, children were shown drawings of 24 novel outdoor activities at three levels of risk (low, medium, high), each with a brief description. Children were asked to rate the level of risk (not dangerous, a little dangerous, somewhat dangerous, very dangerous). To assess risk-taking, children were then shown the same pictures but were asked whether they would try the activity.
For risk perception, there was an interaction between level of risk and age (p < .001); older children rated high-risk activities as more dangerous than did younger children (see Figure 1). For risk-taking, there was an interaction between risk level and age (p < .001); older children were more likely to try low-risk activities and less likely to try high-risk activities. There was also an interaction between risk level and gender (p = .031); girls were less likely than boys to try medium- or high-risk activities but equally likely to try low-risk activities (see Figure 2).
These results indicate that when the stakes are high, older children perceive more danger and take fewer risks than younger children – doing so only for high-risk activities. Further, boys take more risks than girls – observed in their greater risk-taking in medium- and high-risk activities. The findings highlight the importance of considering risk level in children’s risk-taking and perception. Younger children’s greater risk-taking in high-risk activities might reflect inadequate cognitive abilities to fully process the implications of dangerous situations. Further, gender differences in risk-taking – in the absence of differences in perception – suggest that risk perception does not necessarily correspond to risk-taking. Differences in risk-taking may result from boys being socialized to be independent and girls to be well-behaved. However, it is also possible that boys’ greater willingness to try activities does not signify actual risk-taking. Future studies using more direct measures of risky behavior could illuminate the distinction between risk-taking and risk perception.

Authors

• Monica Lu, Washington University in St. Louis
  Presenting Author

• Laura Hennefield, Washington University in St Louis
  Non-Presenting Author

• Lori Markson, Washington University in St Louis
  Non-Presenting Author