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Adolescents are characterized as risk takers, but what happens when they have the chance to take risks in situations that allow them to show antisocial behavior? Adolescents with a higher amount of externalizing problems are likely to engage in antisocial behavior. Thus, they might have a tendency to take risks at someone else’s expense (antisocial risk-taking). This study examines the relation between externalizing problems and risk-taking for only themselves (self-risk taking) and antisocial risk-taking, and what the effect of prosocial tendencies is on this relation. It was expected that externalizing problems are positively associated to both kinds of risk-taking (H1 & H2) and that when having more externalizing problems, the adolescents would engage more in antisocial risk taking than self-risk taking (H3). It was also expected that prosocial tendencies has a moderative effect on the difference between self-risk taking and antisocial risk taking associated with externalizing problems (H4). We examined Dutch speaking friend duo’s living in the Netherlands, aged 12 to 16 (N = 46, M = 15.16, SD = 1.29). The participants filled in the Strengths and Difficulties Questions and play a modified version of the Balloon Analogue Risk Task. Simple linear and multiple regression analyses were used to analyze the data. There are no significant relations found. There might be more in play in the mechanism behind the risk taking which results here in the fact that externalizing problems only does not have an effect on risk taking. More research on possible factors in this mechanism is needed.

Adolescents are characterized as risk takers, but what happens when they have the chance to take risks in situations that allow them to show antisocial behavior? Adolescents with a higher amount of externalizing problems are likely to engage in antisocial behavior. Thus, they might have a tendency to take risks at someone else’s expense (antisocial risk-taking). This study examines the relation between externalizing problems and risk-taking for only themselves (self-risk taking) and antisocial risk-taking, and what the effect of prosocial tendencies is on this relation. It was expected that externalizing problems are positively associated to both kinds of risk-taking (H1 & H2) and that when having more externalizing problems, the adolescents would engage more in antisocial risk taking than self-risk taking (H3). It was also expected that prosocial tendencies has a moderative effect on the difference between self-risk taking and antisocial risk taking associated with externalizing problems (H4). We examined Dutch speaking friend duo’s living in the Netherlands, aged 12 to 16 (N = 46, M = 15.16, SD = 1.29). The participants filled in the Strengths and Difficulties Questions and play a modified version of the Balloon Analogue Risk Task. Simple linear and multiple regression analyses were used to analyze the data. There are no significant relations found. There might be more in play in the mechanism behind the risk taking which results here in the fact that externalizing problems only does not have an effect on risk taking. More research on possible factors in this mechanism is needed.