Janessa Rangel

Major: Integrative Neuroscience

Biography: Janessa Rangel is a senior majoring in Integrative Neuroscience and minoring in Anthropology. She hopes to pursue an M.D. following graduation. Her research interests lie in understanding how science and society interact and inform one another. During her free time, Janessa loves to read in coffee shops, spend time with her dog, Coco, and exercise.

Project Title: An Examination of Urban Adolescent Life Experiences and Engagement in Risky Behavior

Faculty Mentor: Amy Roy, Department of Psychology

Abstract: Adolescence is considered the transition between childhood and adulthood and is marked by certain physical, psychological, and social changes. Increased social and academic demands also contribute to the life events adolescents experience, both positive and negative. This period in time is also marked by an increase in risky behaviors, where some adolescents are more willing to engage in behaviors than others. The dominant explanation is that factors such as family relations, household income, gender and socioeconomic status influence the way adolescents process adverse life events. Adolescents in higher neighborhood disadvantage areas not only report more chronic stressors, but also more overall negative life experiences compared to their lower neighborhood disadvantage counterparts.This study used data from two separate questionnaires, the Urban Adolescent Life Experiences (UALES) scale and the Adolescent Risk-taking Questionnaire (ARQ) to determine the relationship between total negative life experiences and engagement in risky behavior. Furthermore, this study aimed to assess whether this relationship is different for adolescents across income. Contrary to what has often been assumed, the findings of the study indicate that lower income adolescents did not present a significant correlation between negative life experiences and engagement in risky behaviors, while the high-income adolescents did present a significant correlation. Implications for future research can lend insight into how much of an influence family relationships, peer pressure, parental influence, and parents’ working hours have on the relationship between negative life events and engagement in risky behaviors.