Publisher's Synopsis
Youth-Specific Overconfidence? - A German StudyAdolescent risk taking behavior and an apparently adolescent-specific tendency to overestimate themselves seem to be inextricably linked in the public consciousness.Associations on this topic are usually negatively connoted. - No wonder: adolescents' self-and external threats of courage are omnipresent in the media and online video portals have long been used as exposed platforms to showcase the risky actions of mostly male adolescents: adolescents jump from canal bridges, balance on bridge railings, stand - waiting the next train - on railroad tracks or trying to cross highways. Breathtaking in the literal sense: "Rooftopping" - young people climb tall buildings without security and film themselves at a dizzying height upon arrival.Even if these examples are at an extremely high and unrepresentative level of risk: the stereotype of the unreflective young person who accepts the dangers that there is no tomorrow will be strengthened. If a test of courage gets out of hand, it is easy to talk about youthful recklessness or overconfidence.The subject of the present text is a closer look at a disposition for self-overestimation described in the scientific reception as "youth-specific". On the paradigmatic side, the schools of developmental psychology and depth psychology serve as a frame of reference. In addition to the theoretical treatment of this topic, the results of a quantitative study are discussed, which areas of this topic have been examined on the slide of youth risk taking behavior. The information from German 720 pupils between the ages of 11 and 16 was taken into account here. Hint: I originally wrote this study in German. I apologize for any oddity that has arisen from the translation process.
