Despite adolescence and emerging adulthood being a time of peak physical ability, it is
marked by a dramatic increase in morbidity and mortality, primarily driven by poor
behavioral and emotional control (Dahl, 2004). Multiple lines of recent research are now
focusing on how maturation of decision-making impacts risk-taking, and more
specifically, what role emotion regulation plays (Weinberger et al., 2005; Steinberg,
2007). Rather than avoiding risk factors, a call is made for strength and skills-based
approaches to risk-taking interventions.
The purpose of the current exploratory study was to assess the efficacy of an experiential
learning (EL) intervention designed to increase participants’ emotion regulation skills and
decrease risk-taking. Twenty-eight emerging adults participated; 15 were assigned to the
experimental group and presented with two separate sessions on emotional regulation and
risk-taking using EL methodology (low and high element activities). The control group’s
13 participants were presented with two separate powerpoint lectures on emotion
regulation and risk-taking. Participants’ difficulty with emotion regulation and risk-taking were assessed prior to the first session, between sessions, and one week following
the second session. Qualitative interviews assessed participants’ understanding of how
emotions and risk-taking are connected and process measures assessed the emotional
impact of the intervention activities.
While hypotheses were not confirmed, results revealed a significant decline in difficulty
with emotion regulation across time for all participants. Unexpectedly, however, there
were no significant differences between the groups on emotional regulation and the group
x time interaction was also not significant. Additionally, risk-taking significantly
increased across time. The control group reported more risk-taking across the three time
periods than the experimental group. The time x group interaction approached
significance [F(2,56) =2.68, p =.07], showing consistent increases for the control group
but relatively low levels for the experimental group. Qualitative data revealed that
participants had clear notions of how emotions drive risk-taking, how the thrill of risk-
taking can be used to displace negative feelings, and how one’s need to connect to others
can lead to risk-taking. Experimental group participants demonstrated a shift from global
thinking about emotions and risk-taking to more specific thoughts about emotional
awareness as a key skill. / text
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UTEXAS/oai:repositories.lib.utexas.edu:2152/23497 |
| Date | 12 March 2014 |
| Creators | Welsh, Kelly Ann 1973- |
| Source Sets | University of Texas |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | application/pdf |
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