The Development of Reward Sensitivity- Exploring the Role of Culture and Parental Education on Adolescent Development

Abstract

The period of adolescence is marked by increased levels of risk taking. One proposed reason for this developmental pattern is a rise during adolescence (relative to earlier and later periods) in the degree to which behaviors are driven by reward-seeking. However, there are individual differences in the extent to which adolescents respond to rewards. One individual difference may arise from the socioeconomic context in which youth develop. Life-history (LH) theory suggests that exposure to early childhood adversity (e.g., more typical in lower SES circumstances) unconsciously predisposes individuals toward decisions that favor instant gratification. Given that reward-seeking may increase during adolescence and early adversity may promote greater risk-taking in pursuit of reward, the present study tested whether individuals exposed to early adversity displayed heightened sensitivity to rewards during adolescence. Reward-seeking behaviors were assessed using measures of sensation-seeking, a psychological manifestation of reward-sensitivity. Participants (N= 4620) aged 10-25 from 11 diverse countries (China, Italy, Kenya, Thailand, Colombia, Jordan, Sweden, US, Philippines, India and Cyprus) completed a self-report (a subset of the Sensation-Seeking Scale) and a behavioral measure of reward sensitivity (Stoplight task). Reward sensitivity followed the expected inverted-U age trend across the full sample for both measures. A country by country analysis revealed that risky driving in the Stoplight task followed the expected age-pattern in 4 out of the 11 countries (peaking at age 16), and in 3 out of the 11 countries for self-reported sensation seeking (peaking around age 18). However, age trends did not differ as a function of SES across the full sample or within countries. Overall, these results indicate that although there is variability in how reward-sensitivity develops across cultures, one’s socioeconomic status does not appear to influence this development worldwide.