Emotional regulation self-efficacy and impulsivity effects on college students' risk-taking behavior: a cross-sectional study

BackgroundThe adventurous behaviors of college students are becoming increasingly diverse. This study is grounded in the dual-process theory model of impulsivity. To explore the impact of the match between impulsivity and emotional regulation self-efficacy on college student multi-domain risk-taking...

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Main Authors: Ruoyu Zhang, Chen Zhang, Liying Huang
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Frontiers Media S.A. 2025-06-01
Series:Frontiers in Psychology
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Online Access:https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1566618/full
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author Ruoyu Zhang
Chen Zhang
Liying Huang
author_facet Ruoyu Zhang
Chen Zhang
Liying Huang
author_sort Ruoyu Zhang
collection DOAJ
description BackgroundThe adventurous behaviors of college students are becoming increasingly diverse. This study is grounded in the dual-process theory model of impulsivity. To explore the impact of the match between impulsivity and emotional regulation self-efficacy on college student multi-domain risk-taking behavior and examine whether impulsivity played a mediating role, using a polynomial regression and response surface analysis.MethodsA questionnaire survey was conducted with 638 college students from online and offline, to investigate their impulsivity, emotional self-efficacy, multi-domain risk-taking behavior.Results(1) Impulsivity is significantly positively correlated with risk-taking behavior across various domains. Emotional self-efficacy is significantly negatively correlated with impulsivity, as well as with risk-taking behaviors in the health/safety and moral domains. (2) College students with high impulsivity and high emotional regulation self-efficacy engage in more health/safety, moral, and recreational risk-taking behaviors than those with low impulsivity and low emotional regulation self-efficacy. (3) College students with high impulsivity and low emotional regulation self-efficacy exhibit a greater number of health/safety, moral, and recreational risk-taking behaviors than those with low impulsivity and high emotional regulation self-efficacy. (4) In the male population, impulsivity plays a full mediating role between emotional regulation self-efficacy and various domains of risk-taking behavior. In the female population, impulsivity serves as a full mediator only in the domains of health/safety, moral, and economic risk-taking behaviors, while it acts as a partial mediator in the domains of recreational and social risk-taking behaviors.ConclusionThe present study reveals the mechanisms through which different combinations of high and low impulsivity and emotional self-efficacy influence multi-domain risk-taking behaviors among college students and validated the mediating role of impulsivity. This study validates the dual-process theory of impulsivity and provides research experience for future interventions targeting risk-taking behaviors across various domains among college students of different genders.
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spelling doaj-art-c848dbee3f0d466c806ba1dc857e156a2025-08-20T03:56:49ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782025-06-011610.3389/fpsyg.2025.15666181566618Emotional regulation self-efficacy and impulsivity effects on college students' risk-taking behavior: a cross-sectional studyRuoyu ZhangChen ZhangLiying HuangBackgroundThe adventurous behaviors of college students are becoming increasingly diverse. This study is grounded in the dual-process theory model of impulsivity. To explore the impact of the match between impulsivity and emotional regulation self-efficacy on college student multi-domain risk-taking behavior and examine whether impulsivity played a mediating role, using a polynomial regression and response surface analysis.MethodsA questionnaire survey was conducted with 638 college students from online and offline, to investigate their impulsivity, emotional self-efficacy, multi-domain risk-taking behavior.Results(1) Impulsivity is significantly positively correlated with risk-taking behavior across various domains. Emotional self-efficacy is significantly negatively correlated with impulsivity, as well as with risk-taking behaviors in the health/safety and moral domains. (2) College students with high impulsivity and high emotional regulation self-efficacy engage in more health/safety, moral, and recreational risk-taking behaviors than those with low impulsivity and low emotional regulation self-efficacy. (3) College students with high impulsivity and low emotional regulation self-efficacy exhibit a greater number of health/safety, moral, and recreational risk-taking behaviors than those with low impulsivity and high emotional regulation self-efficacy. (4) In the male population, impulsivity plays a full mediating role between emotional regulation self-efficacy and various domains of risk-taking behavior. In the female population, impulsivity serves as a full mediator only in the domains of health/safety, moral, and economic risk-taking behaviors, while it acts as a partial mediator in the domains of recreational and social risk-taking behaviors.ConclusionThe present study reveals the mechanisms through which different combinations of high and low impulsivity and emotional self-efficacy influence multi-domain risk-taking behaviors among college students and validated the mediating role of impulsivity. This study validates the dual-process theory of impulsivity and provides research experience for future interventions targeting risk-taking behaviors across various domains among college students of different genders.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1566618/fullimpulsivityemotional regulation self-efficacymulti-domain risk-taking behaviorpolynomial regressionresponse surface analysis
spellingShingle Ruoyu Zhang
Chen Zhang
Liying Huang
Emotional regulation self-efficacy and impulsivity effects on college students' risk-taking behavior: a cross-sectional study
Frontiers in Psychology
impulsivity
emotional regulation self-efficacy
multi-domain risk-taking behavior
polynomial regression
response surface analysis
title Emotional regulation self-efficacy and impulsivity effects on college students' risk-taking behavior: a cross-sectional study
title_full Emotional regulation self-efficacy and impulsivity effects on college students' risk-taking behavior: a cross-sectional study
title_fullStr Emotional regulation self-efficacy and impulsivity effects on college students' risk-taking behavior: a cross-sectional study
title_full_unstemmed Emotional regulation self-efficacy and impulsivity effects on college students' risk-taking behavior: a cross-sectional study
title_short Emotional regulation self-efficacy and impulsivity effects on college students' risk-taking behavior: a cross-sectional study
title_sort emotional regulation self efficacy and impulsivity effects on college students risk taking behavior a cross sectional study
topic impulsivity
emotional regulation self-efficacy
multi-domain risk-taking behavior
polynomial regression
response surface analysis
url https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1566618/full
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AT chenzhang emotionalregulationselfefficacyandimpulsivityeffectsoncollegestudentsrisktakingbehavioracrosssectionalstudy
AT liyinghuang emotionalregulationselfefficacyandimpulsivityeffectsoncollegestudentsrisktakingbehavioracrosssectionalstudy