Graduate Program

School Psychology

Degree Name

Specialist in School Psychology

Semester of Degree Completion

2000

Thesis Director

J. Michael Havey

Abstract

Risk taking behavior among the adolescent population has increased in recent years putting America's youth in danger of many detrimental outcomes. Many adolescents currently engage in behaviors that represent health risks as well as those that are potential criminal risk. This study attempted to assess late adolescent risk-taking as a function of gender and parental marital status. Similarly, the self-esteem of late adolescent participants was also measured within the contexts of gender and family status. This study provides partial support for the idea adolescents with divorced parents engage in a significantly greater amount of risk-taking behavior than those with married parents. It was found that males engage in a significantly greater amount of risk-taking than females regardless of parental marital status. Males were also found to possess significantly greater self-esteem than females in this study.

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