Risk-taking in preschool children.

This study was designed to characterize preschool-age children who engage in daring, risk-taking behaviors. Seventy-four children (39 males, 35 females) and their mothers from a wide range of socioeconomic strata participated. Children who described themselves as high in risk-taking were generally males, had higher accident and injury rates, and had parents whose assessments of their children's risk-taking activities were congruent with their own. Contrary to our expectations, however, risk-taking children did not appear to be more than ordinarily impulsive, which suggests that risk-taking is engaged in contemplatively (i.e., with some caution) by some youngsters and need not result in serious mishaps. Cognitive ability was found to be a codependent predictor of risk-taking for boys. Parents and clinicians will find it useful to know that risk-taking is a multidimensional phenomenon, not a unitary behavior or personality trait and that the Injury Behavior Checklist would be a valuable tool for screening selected populations.