Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine whether an adolescent’s identity status predict their risk taking behavior. In addition, another purpose of this study is whether an adolescent’s risk taking behavior differs in terms of gender. The research group consisted of 315 (165 female, 150 male) university students. To collect data the EOM-EIS (Extended Version of Objective Measure of Ego Identity ) and the Risk Taking Scale (RTS) were used. To analyze data Pearson Correlation, Multiple Regression Analysis and t-test were used. According to results, achievement, foreclosure, moratorium and diffusion identity status together accounted for a significant proportion of the variance (% 26) of the risk taking behavior. The results of this study also revealed that an adolescent’s risk taking behavior differentiated by gender.

Key words: Adolescence, Identity status, Risk taking