Understanding Individual Differences in Prosocial Risk-Taking During Adolescence The Roles of Prosociality, Risk-Taking, and Social Orientation

Abstract Prosocial risk-taking, helping others at uncertain personal costs, has been proposed to emerge from the intersection of prosociality and risk-taking, suggesting that prosocial risk-taking is most likely to occur when adolescents are both motivated to help others and willing to engage in risk-taking. Empirical findings on its correlates have been mixed, leaving unclear whether prosocial risk-taking is best understood as a form of risk-taking, a form of prosocial behavior, or a distinct construct emerging from both. The present study examined how prosociality, risk-taking and individual differences related to social orientation are associated with prosocial risk-taking. Participants were 355 Dutch adolescents (M age = 16.04 years, SD age = 1.11; 58% girls). Complementary variable- and person-centered approaches were used, as well as a broader model including different measures related to prosocial behavior, risk-taking and social orientation. Across approaches, indicators of prosocial orientation showed the strongest associations with prosocial risk-taking. Contrary to predictions from the theoretical model, risk-taking was negatively related to prosocial risk-taking. These findings suggest that prosocial risk-taking is better understood as a form of high-cost prosocial behavior than as a manifestation of adolescents’ general risk-taking tendencies.