ERIC Number: EJ1361007
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2023-Jan
Pages: 10
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0165-0254
EISSN: EISSN-1464-0651
Optimistic Children Engage in More Constructive Risk-Taking Behaviors
Lu, Monica S.; Hennefield, Laura; Tillman, Rebecca; Markson, Lori
International Journal of Behavioral Development, v47 n1 p72-81 Jan 2023
Optimism is linked to persistence and resilience in adults; however, how optimism might relate to children's evaluations of potentially challenging situations and risk-taking behaviors is unknown. This study examined the role of optimism in 4- to 8-year-old children's (N = 121) perceptions of and willingness to engage in physical activities that ranged from low to high risk. Overall, children perceived activities with more risky elements as more dangerous and were less willing to try them, with this pattern strongest in older children. Moreover, children higher in optimism were (1) more willing to engage in moderate-risk activities relative to children lower in optimism, but (2) less willing to engage in the highest-risk activities--even though they perceived those highest-risk activities as less dangerous than children lower in optimism. These findings support the possibility that optimism motivates children to engage in beneficial moderately challenging activities and protects them from engaging in severe injury-inflicting activities.
Descriptors: Positive Attitudes, Risk, Child Behavior, Young Children, Childrens Attitudes, Physical Activities, Age Differences, Psychological Patterns, Risk Management
SAGE Publications. 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320. Tel: 800-818-7243; Tel: 805-499-9774; Fax: 800-583-2665; e-mail: journals@sagepub.com; Web site: https://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2993
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) (DHHS/NIH); Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) (DHHS/NIH)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: T32MH100019; F32HD093273; R21HD095490