Environmental Unpredictability Predicts Positive Social Risk Taking through Neural Cognitive Control

Adolescence is a period characterized by social and biological changes that are associated with increases in sensation seeking and risk-taking behaviors. Unpredictable environments may influence neurocognitive development and are associated with increases in risky behaviors and poor social functioning. The majority of research linking adversity and risky behaviors has focused on negative risk taking; however, research has started to distinguish between negative and positive risk taking across different domains. Thus, the current study used seven years of longitudinal data to examine how unpredictable life events are associated with positive social risk taking through changes in neural cognitive control in frontoparietal circuitry. Results of conditional growth curve modeling indicated that unpredictability predicted higher levels of frontoparietal activation in late adolescence which, in turn, was associated with lower positive social risk taking. Significant indirect effects revealed that unpredictability was associated with lower positive social risk taking in young adulthood through higher frontoparietal activation during cognitive control in late adolescence. The findings have important implications for understanding the antecedents of risk-taking behaviors by highlighting the role of neurocognitive functioning in linking environmental unpredictability to positive social risk outcomes.