The evolution of Risky Decision Making in a Sample of Iranian Children

Identification of risky decision making trajectory can be used for determination of proper ages for prevention and intervention. The aim of this study is determination of developmental trajectory of risky decision making in Iranian Children. In present cross sectional study, Two hundred forty students of elementary school with classified random sampling participated in four region of Tehran. Neurocognitive Test of Balloon Analogue Risk Taking Task was used for evaluation of risky decision making. One way ANOVA and Tukey Post Hoc tests were used for analysis of data. Findings show that risk taking is significantly different in different grade (from first to sixth grade) of elementary school so that students with higher grades were more risk taker (P<0.01). Post Hoc analysis revealed that this difference is related to sixth grade. The results of present study indicate the growth of this type of decision-making in this age group that consequently, the role of education and school counseling services concerned with prevent from the growth of this style of decision-making by providing educational and psychological services in schools seems necessary.