Extending Steinberg's adolescent model of risk taking to the explanation of crime and delinquency: Are impulsivity and sensation seeking enough?

Recent work has generalized Steinberg's (2008) dual systems model of adolescent risk taking behavior to the explanation of crime (Burt, Sweeten, & Simons, 2014; Vazsonyi & Ksinan, 2017). However, risky behaviors and crime are not synonymous and the traits associated with criminal behavior may extend beyond impulsivity and sensation seeking. The current work used a large sample of University students to further explore the generalization of the dual systems model of adolescent risk taking behavior to the explanation of crime. Analyses included measures of traits central to the dual systems model and also measures of traits implicated in the explanation of crime but not necessarily risky behaviors. Results showed that impulsivity and sensation seeking were associated with crime but so were callousness, egocentricity, and Machiavellianism, indicating that the traits associated with criminal behavior extend beyond those included in the dual systems model.