Presenter: Kya Aliana Ransom

Faculty Sponsor: Kirby Deater-Deckard

School: UMass Amherst

Research Area: Psychology and Behavioral Sciences

Session: Poster Session 5, 3:15 PM - 4:00 PM, Auditorium, A12

ABSTRACT

Adolescence is a period of increasing independence, yet it is also marked by heightened vulnerability to risk-taking behaviors. While parenting has been consistently linked to adolescent outcomes, research often examines parenting, self-control, and risk-taking separately. This project addresses that gap by investigating how parenting environments shape adolescents’ capacity for self-control and how those self-control skills influence risky decision making across development. 

Using longitudinal data from Virginia Tech Adolescent and Young Adult Brain Study, this research analyzes multiple waves of adolescent-reported data. Parenting quality is assessed through measures of acceptance, communication, and monitoring. Adolescent self-control is measured through indicators of impulse control and decision-making tendencies, and risk-taking behaviors include health-related, sensation seeking, and rule-breaking behaviors. Mediation analyses test whether self-control serves as a developmental pathway linking parenting environments to adolescent risk-taking. Socioeconomic context is examined as a potential moderator of these associations.

Grounded in a developmental systems framework, this study conceptualizes adolescent risk as emerging within relational and environmental contexts rather than as an individual deficit. It is hypothesized that supportive parenting environments foster strong self-control capacities which reduce harmful risk-taking, particularly under conditions of socioeconomic stress. This research contributes to models of adolescent development and informs prevention efforts aimed at support youth and families across diverse environments. 

Preliminary analyses indicate that higher-quality parenting environments are associated with greater adolescent self-control, which in turn predicts lower engagement in risky behaviors. These findings highlight self-control as a key developmental pathway through which supportive parenting environments may reduce adolescent risk-taking.