Sex differences in the developmental trajectories of impulse control and sensation-seeking from early adolescence to early adulthood.
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Longitudinal cohort study
PubMed 24682958 · doi:10.1007/s10964-014-0116-9
What was done
Longitudinal analysis examining sex differences in developmental trajectories of self-reported impulse control and sensation-seeking across ages 10 to 25. Data were drawn from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth 1979 (NLSY79) Child and Young Adult Survey (N = 8,270; 49% female; 33% Black, 22% Hispanic, 45% Non-Black, Non-Hispanic).
What was found
The abstract reports directional trajectory differences without specific numerical effect sizes. Sensation-seeking rose and fell across this age span while impulse control increased into the 20s for both sexes. Males demonstrated higher sensation-seeking and lower impulse control than females overall. Females reached peak sensation-seeking earlier and declined more rapidly thereafter, while males gained impulse control more gradually. Consequently, sex gaps in both domains widened with age.
Why it matters
The findings support the dual-systems model of adolescent neurodevelopment while demonstrating that the developmental window of heightened vulnerability to risk-taking is longer and more pronounced in males than in females.
Limits
Measures relied entirely on self-report rather than behavioral or neurobiological assessments. The abstract does not report exact numerical effect sizes, test statistics, or direct links to real-world risk-taking outcomes.
Cited by
- supports Adolescent boys and girls have similar trajectories of sensation seeking, but girls mature in impulse control faster, taking men until about age 24 to match the control of a 15-year-old girl.