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Research in the past decade has highlighted the nuances of adolescent decision making. In this review article, we summarize several themes evident in the field of developmental science including the redefinition of adolescence and the ways in which adolescent decision‐making capabilities converge with or diverge from those of adults. While the decision‐making process is similar for adolescents and adults in contexts that encourage deliberation and reflection, adolescents and adults differ in contexts which preclude deliberation vis‐à‐vis high emotional arousal. We also discuss the reconceptualization of adolescent behavior, including risk taking, as adaptive. That is, characteristics of adolescence, including impulsivity, the importance of peers, and novelty seeking, are normative, evolutionarily advantageous, and essential for positive development. While these features manifest in negative, health‐compromising ways (e.g., risky driving and criminal behavior), they also foster growth and exploration. We conclude with a discussion of potential avenues for future research.

AbstractThe dual systems model of adolescent risk‐taking portrays the period as one characterized by a combination of heightened sensation seeking and still‐maturing self‐regulation, but most tests of this model have been conducted in the United States or Western Europe. In the present study, these propositions are tested in an international sample of more than 5000 individuals between ages 10 and 30 years from 11 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Americas, using a multi‐method test battery that includes both self‐report and performance‐based measures of both constructs. Consistent with the dual systems model, sensation seeking increased between preadolescence and late adolescence, peaked at age 19, and declined thereafter, whereas self‐regulation increased steadily from preadolescence into young adulthood, reaching a plateau between ages 23 and 26. Although there were some variations in the magnitude of the observed age trends, the developmental patterns were largely similar across countries.