Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2010 Sep;11(3):319-30.
doi: 10.1007/s11121-010-0171-8.

Can adolescents learn self-control? Delay of gratification in the development of control over risk taking

Daniel Romer  1 , Angela L Duckworth, Sharon Sznitman, Sunhee Park
Affiliations

Can adolescents learn self-control? Delay of gratification in the development of control over risk taking

Daniel Romer et al. Prev Sci. 2010 Sep.

Abstract

Recent findings from developmental neuroscience suggest that the adolescent brain is too immature to exert control over impulsive drives, such as sensation seeking, that increase during adolescence. Using a discounting of delayed reward paradigm, this research examines the ability to delay gratification as a potential source of control over risk-taking tendencies that increase during adolescence. In addition, it explores the role of experience resulting from risk taking as well as future time perspective as contributors to the development of this ability. In a nationally representative sample (n = 900) of young people aged 14-22, a structural equation analysis shows that risk taking as assessed by use of three popular drugs (tobacco, marijuana, and alcohol) is inversely related to the ability to delay gratification. The relation is robust across gender, age, and different levels of sensation seeking. In addition, high sensation seekers exhibit dramatic age-related increase in delay of gratification, lending support to the hypothesis that engaging in risky behavior provides experience that leads to greater patience for long-term rewards. The findings support the conclusion that a complete understanding of the development of self-control must consider individual differences not easily explained by universal trends in brain maturation.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Structural equation model for relations between sensation seeking, time perspective, delay of gratification, and drug use. Gender, income, and racial-ethnic identity paths are not shown
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Developmental trajectories of predicted standardized scores for sensation seeking, future time perspective, and delay of gratification holding constant demographic differences
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Delay of gratification (standardized) as a function of age and sensation seeking. Predicted scores for delay of gratification are conditioned on gender, age, ethnic-racial identity, and neighborhood household income
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Ainslie G. Specious reward: A behavioral theory of impulsiveness and impulse control. Psychological Bulletin. 1975;82:463–496. - PubMed
    1. Allison PD. Missing data. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage; 2001.
    1. Bembenutty HF, Karabenick SA. Inherent association between academic delay of gratification, future time perspective, and self-regulated learning. Educational Psychology Review. 2004;16:35–57.
    1. Bentler PM. EQS 6 structural equation manual. Encino, CA: Multivariate Software, Inc.; 2004.
    1. Botvin GJ, Griffin KW, Nichols TD. Preventing youth violence and delinquency through a universal school-based prevention approach. Prevention Science. 2006;7:403–408. - PubMed