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Abstract:
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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 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 . |