Adaptive calibration of risk-taking: The role of parenting styles, emotion regulation and stress reactivity

Abstract

The present study was designed to understand whether experienced parenting style in childhood and emotion regulation strategies can predict the relationship between stress reactivity and risk-taking behaviors. Based on the Adaptive Calibration Model it was predicted that the relationship between cortisol and risk-taking behavior would be influenced by early life experiences with parents and emotion regulation strategies. To test the hypotheses, 156 college age students were recruited to participate in an experimental study in which half of the participants experienced a stressful social situation before engaging in a computerized risk-taking task. The results of the present study suggested that cortisol reactivity marginally increased risk-taking propensity. However, the present study did not find evidence that differences in risk-taking were influenced by interactions between parenting style and emotion regulation with cortisol reactivity. Results of the present study have implications in future research design of studies using computerized measures of risk-taking, and areas of future research in the field based on trends in the current data.