Citation

Nie Y, Wang G, Chen P, Wang L, Dou K. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2022; 19(21): e14198.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2022, MDPI: Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute)

DOI

10.3390/ijerph192114198

PMID

36361078

Abstract

Peer victimization has been considered a main source of risk-taking behavior among adolescents, but little is known about the mechanisms underlying this association. Based on the social-cognitive theory and the person-environment interactions model, the current study built a moderated mediation model to explore whether self-control mediated the link between peer victimization and adolescent risk-taking behavior and whether positive parenting moderated this link. We used a 2-time longitudinal design (6 months apart) to investigate 488 adolescents (M(age) = 15.63 years, SD = 1.64) from 3 middle schools in Guangzhou. The results were as follows: (1) There were significant correlations among peer victimization, adolescent risk-taking behavior, self-control, and positive parenting when controlling for demographic variables. (2) Peer victimization not only influenced risk-taking behavior directly, but also indirectly through self-control. (3) Positive parenting moderated the influence of self-control on risk-taking behavior. In other words, positive parenting could enhance the inhibitory effect of self-control on risk-taking behavior. The results help reveal the mechanism by which adolescent risk-taking behavior forms and may help inform interventions against adolescent risk-taking behavior.

Language: en

Keywords

adolescent; self-control; risk-taking behavior; positive parenting; peer victimization