COLLEGE STUDENT RISK BEHAVIOR: IMPLICATIONS OF RELIGIOSITY AND IMPULSIVITY by MARY CAZZELL Presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School of The University of Texas at Arlington in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT ARLINGTON December 2009 UMI Number: 3391108 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMI 3391108 Copyright 2010 by ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This edition of the work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code. ProQuest LLC 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, MI 48106-1346 Copyright © by Mary Cazzell 2009 All Rights Reserved ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank my family for their unconditional love, support, and understanding during these last four years. My husband, Brian Cazzell, was my special source for encouragement, a shoulder to cry on, and an ear to listen to my troubles. At times, it seemed that he has sacrificed more so I could successfully achieve my doctorate. For all of this, I am truly grateful. I am also thankful to my daughters, Lauren and Emily, for their constant support of me and their pride in me. I believe that our marriage and family relationships have strengthened during this sometimes arduous process. I would also like to thank my parents, Walter and Marilyn Skipper, for their love, support, and encouragement over the years. I am truly grateful to my dissertation chair and mentor, Dr. Diane Snow, for her time, support, and encouragement throughout my doctoral program. Dr. Snow’s passion and selfless concern for her students are important reasons for my success. I would also like to thank my committee members, Dr. Patricia Newcomb and Dr. Jennifer Gray, for their strong support, advice, and direction. I have appreciated their individual and joint expertise throughout my dissertation process. I am also thankful to Dr. Carolyn Cason for opportunities to participate in various research and publication projects while a graduate research assistant. I thank Dr. Elizabeth Poster for her vision and support of my future areas of research. I am grateful for the generosity of Dr. Ferne Kyba. As recipient of the Kyba Doctoral Fellowship, I was awarded funds that strengthened my research study. Finally, I want to thank my friends and fellow doctoral students. Without our weekly gatherings, I could not have continued to push on when the path was lonely. November 16, 2009 iii ABSTRACT COLLEGE STUDENT RISK BEHAVIOR: IMPLICATIONS OF RELIGIOSITY AND IMPULSIVITY Mary Cazzell PhD The University of Texas at Arlington, 2009 Supervising Professor: Dr. Diane Snow College student risk-taking among 18 to 21 years olds includes smoking cigarettes, binge drinking, casual sex with multiple partners, automobile accidents due to risky driving or driving under the influence, and substance use. Among 10 to 24 year olds, 72% of all fatalities result from automobile accidents, unintended injuries, homicide, and suicide. Since not all college students participate in risk behaviors, protective factors such as religiosity may be a protective social or psychological buffer that supports positive relationships and moral order. Impulsivity, an inability to squelch inappropriate thoughts or actions, is associated with the later development (in the mid-twenties) of the prefrontal cortex. The purpose of the cross-sectional correlational study is to determine the strength of associations between public and private religiosity, impulsivity, age, gender, fraternity/sorority membership (Greek affiliation), and risk-taking propensity among college students, 18 to 20 years old, who live away from home. All study participants (n = 110; mean age = 18.9 years) completed two behavioral measures, Tower of Hanoi (TOH) and Balloon Analogue Risk Task (BART) and four paper surveys (demographic information, Age Universal Religious Universal Orientation iv Scale-12, Eysenck Impulsivity Subscale, and College Student Risk Behavior Measure). Adequate reliability was obtained for BART, private religiosity subscale, and Eysenck Impulsivity Subscale. Results showed high mean private religiosity scores, low mean impulsivity scores, low average balloon inflations on BART, and two risk behaviors over the past 30 days. Only six sorority members participated in the study. Regression analysis explained that age, gender, private religiosity, and impulsivity accounted for only 4% of the variance in risk-taking propensity. The findings advocate for a broader investigation of the multi-dimensional influences that impact college student risk behavior. Lower impulsivity and BART scores suggest a link between environmental challenge, late adolescent neurobiology, and cognitive variables. BART proved to be an interactive educational strategy on inclination to take risks. Implications for nursing practice, education, and research describe links between adolescent neurodevelopment, reward-seeking or motivation, individually-planned prevention programs, as well as teaching and recruitment strategies. v TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS…………………………….………………………………………. iii ABSTRACT……………………………………………………………………………………. iv LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS…………………………………………………………………… xiv LIST OF TABLES……………………………………………………………………………… xv Chapter Page 1. INTRODUCTION……………………………….………………………………… 1 Background and Significance…………………………………………….. 2 Framework…………………………………………………………………. 6 Propositional Statements…………………………...................... 9 Purpose………………………………..……………………………………. 10 Research Questions……………………………………………………….. 10 Assumptions………………………………………………………………… 11 Chapter Summary……………………………………………………………. 11 2. REVIEW OF LITERATURE……………………..………………………………… 13 Adolescent Neurobiology……………..…………….…….……………….. 14 Developmental Changes in the Adolescent Brain………………………. 15 Prefrontal Cortex………………………………........…………….. 15 Subcortical/Limbic System………..……………..………….…… 17 Nucleus Accumbens………………………………………………. 18 Amygdala…………………………………………………………… 19 Hippocampus………………………………………………………. 20 Basal Ganglia………………………………………………………. 21 Synaptic Pruning…………………………………………………… 22 vi Myelination………………………………………………………… 23 Integration of PFC and Limbic System…………………………. 23 Neurotransmitter/Hormone Balance……………………………… 24 Dopamine……………………………………………………........ 25 Serotonin………………………………………………………….. 26 GABA………………………………………………………………. 27 Pubertal Hormones……………………………………………….. 28 Oxytocin…………………………………………………………… 29 Cortisol……………………………………………………………… 29 Neuroimaging…………………………………………………..…………...... 31 Introduction to Neuroimaging……………………………………. 31 Types of Neuroimaging…………………………………………… 33 Structural MRI (sMRI)…………………………………………….. 34 Functional MRI (fMRI)……………………………………….. ….. 34 Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI)…………………………….. ….. 36 Magnetization Transfer Imaging (MTI)…………………………. 37 Adolescent Correlates in Neuroimaging Research…………..………….. 37 Cognitive Processes……………………………………………… 38 Intellectual Ability………………………………………………… 38 Memory/Attention……………………………………………….. 41 Information Processing…………………………………………. 42 Impulsivity………………………………………………………… 43 Psychosocial Function………………………………………….. 44 Social Processes………………………………………………… 44 Emotion…………………………………………………………… 45 vii Adolescent Risk-Taking Behaviors……………………………………….. 46 Risk-Taking………………………………………………………… 47 Reward Circuitry…………………………………………………… 48 Decision-Making…………………………………………………... 49 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………. 50 Adolescent Religiosity………………………………………………………. 51 Religiosity as Protective Factor………………………………….. 51 Religiosity versus Spirituality……………………………………………….. 54 Challenges in Religiosity Measurement…………………………. 54 Theoretical Challenges……………………………………………. 54 Definition Challenges…………………………………………….. 55 Methodological and Design Challenges……………………………………………………....... 56 Definitions of Religiosity and Spirituality……………………… 56 Development of Religiosity………………………………………………… 58 Childhood Religious Development………………………………. 58 Adolescent Religious Development……………………………… 60 Dimensions of Religiosity Measurement…………………………………. 63 Religiosity Measurement in Adolescent Research Studies……………………………………. 65 Issues in Measuring Adolescent Religious Affiliation………………………………………………. 70 Religiosity and Risk Behavior in Adolescent Research…………………… 71 Longitudinal Studies………………………………………………. 71 Cross-sectional Studies………………………………………….. 73 Conclusion……………………………………………………………………… 75 Adolescent Risk Behavior……………………………………………………. 77 viii Components of Adolescent Risk Behavior…………………........ 78 Impulsivity……………………………………………………………. 79 Reward-Seeking…………………………………………………….. 79 Risk versus Protective Factors…………………………………… 80 Risk Factors………………………………………………………… 81 Protective Factors………………………………………………….. 82 Conceptual Models of Adolescent Risk Behavior…………………………. 84 Social Development Model……………………………………….. 84 Social Ecological Perspective…………………………………… 87 Cognitive Theories…………………………………………………. 89 Prototype-Willingness Model……………………………………. 92 Developmental Assets Framework……………………………… 93 Problem-Behavior Theory………………………………………… 96 Fuzzy-Trace Theory………………………………………………. 99 Measurement of Adolescent Risk Behavior……………………………… 101 Self-Report Measures…………………………………………….. 102 Behavioral Measures………………………………………………. 103 Tower of Hanoi…………………………………………………….. 104 Research Studies Using the TOH……………………………….. 113 Balloon Analogue Risk Task…………………………………….