Leiden University Student Repository

Soullié, Lieke Johanna Justina Maria (2026)

Trait Anxiety, Reward Responsiveness and Risk Taking: A Comparison Between Offline and Online Risk Behaviour

Master thesis | Psychology (MSc)

The main aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between trait anxiety and risk taking, and whether reward responsiveness acts as a mediator. Both online and offline risk taking were assessed and then compared. The sample included 218 Dutch adolescents aged 16-26 year with a mean age of 20.2, The majority (69.7%) identified as women. The variables were measured using a newly developed online risk-taking scale, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Adolescent Risk- taking Questionnaire, and the Behavioural Activation Systems Scale. The results indicated that trait anxiety significantly predicted higher levels of online risk-taking, while reward responsiveness was a significant positive predictor of offline risk-taking. No mediation was found. A Fisher r-to-Z transformation revealed a significant difference between the two models, indicating that online risk taking is significantly different from offline risk taking. Future research is implored to focus on online risk...Show moreThe main aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between trait anxiety and risk taking, and whether reward responsiveness acts as a mediator. Both online and offline risk taking were assessed and then compared. The sample included 218 Dutch adolescents aged 16-26 year with a mean age of 20.2, The majority (69.7%) identified as women. The variables were measured using a newly developed online risk-taking scale, the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory, the Adolescent Risk- taking Questionnaire, and the Behavioural Activation Systems Scale. The results indicated that trait anxiety significantly predicted higher levels of online risk-taking, while reward responsiveness was a significant positive predictor of offline risk-taking. No mediation was found. A Fisher r-to-Z transformation revealed a significant difference between the two models, indicating that online risk taking is significantly different from offline risk taking. Future research is implored to focus on online risk taking as a separate construct with mechanisms that differ from offline risk taking.Show less

Trait Anxiety

Reward Responsiveness

Risk-taking

Online Risk-taking

Offline Risk-taking

Adolescents

Author

Soullié, Lieke Johanna Justina Maria

Faculty

Faculty of Social & Behavioural Sciences

Specialisation

Child and Adolescent Psychology

Supervisors

Prof. Dr. Güroglu, B.
Dr. Blankenstein, N. E.

ECTS Credits

20

Language

en