A neuroscience perspective on sexual risk behavior in adolescence and emerging adulthood

Late adolescence and emerging adulthood (specifically ages 15–24) represent a period of heightened sexual risk taking resulting in the greatest annual rates of sexually transmitted infections and unplanned pregnancies in the US population. Ongoing efforts to prevent such negative consequences are li...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Development and psychopathology 2016-05, Vol.28 (2), p.471-487
Main Authors: Victor, Elizabeth C., Hariri, Ahmad R.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Adolescent
Amygdala - physiology
Decision making
Decision Making - physiology
Female
Humans
Male
Motivation - physiology
Neurosciences
Prefrontal Cortex - physiology
Regular Articles
Reward
Risk factors
Risk-Taking
Sexual behavior
Sexual Behavior - physiology
Sexual Behavior - psychology
Teenagers
Young Adult
Young adults
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Summary:Late adolescence and emerging adulthood (specifically ages 15–24) represent a period of heightened sexual risk taking resulting in the greatest annual rates of sexually transmitted infections and unplanned pregnancies in the US population. Ongoing efforts to prevent such negative consequences are likely to benefit from a deepening of our understanding of biological mechanisms through which sexual risk taking emerges and biases decision making during this critical window. Here we present a neuroscience framework from which a mechanistic examination of sexual risk taking can be advanced. Specifically, we adapt the neurodevelopmental triadic model, which outlines how motivated behavior is governed by three systems: approach, avoidance, and regulation, to sexual decision making and subsequent risk behavior. We further propose a testable hypothesis of the triadic model, wherein relatively decreased threat-related amygdala reactivity and increased reward-related ventral striatum reactivity leads to sexual risk taking, which is particularly exaggerated during adolescence and young adulthood when there is an overexpression of dopaminergic neurons coupled with immature top-down prefrontal cortex regulation. We conclude by discussing how future research based on our adapted triadic model can inform ongoing efforts to improve intervention and prevention efforts.
ISSN:0954-5794
1469-2198
DOI:10.1017/S0954579415001042