Risk Behavior and Family Role Transitions During the Twenties

Family role transitions (marriage and parenthood) were examined in relation to risk behavior (risky driving, substance use, and risky sexual behavior) among 140 people aged 21–28. Being married and having had one or more children tended to be inversely related to reported participation in risk behavior. These relationships appeared to be mediated in part by sensation seeking and religiosity: sensation seeking and religiosity were found to be related to a variety of types of risk behavior, and people who were relatively low in sensation seeking and relatively high in religiosity were more likely to be married and have children. Different types of risk behavior were moderately to highly correlated, suggesting an interrelated syndrome of risk behavior in the twenties. Prevalence rates of risk behavior were consistent with previous studies showing most types of risk behavior to be highly prevalent in the twenties.