Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 24, 2026

Three Laboratory Procedures for Assessing Different Manifestations of Impulsivity in Rats
Published on: March 17, 2019
Early adolescent sexual debut: the mediating role of working memory ability, sensation seeking, and impulsivity
Atika Khurana1, Daniel Romer, Laura M Betancourt
1Annenberg Public Policy Center, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104-3806, USA. akhurana@asc.upenn.edu
Abstract:
Although deficits in working memory ability have been implicated in suboptimal decision making and risk taking among adolescents, its influence on early sexual initiation has so far not been examined. Analyzing 2 waves of panel data from a community sample of adolescents (N = 347; Mean age[baseline] = 13.4 years), assessed 1 year apart, the present study tested the hypothesis that weak working memory ability predicts early sexual initiation and explored whether this relationship is mediated by sensation seeking and 2 forms of impulsivity, namely acting-without-thinking and temporal discounting. The 2 forms of impulsivity were expected to be positively associated with early sexual initiation, whereas sensation seeking was hypothesized to be unrelated or to have a protective influence, due to its positive association with working memory. Results obtained from structural equation modeling procedures supported these predictions and in addition showed that the effects of 3 prominent risk factors (Black racial identity, low socioeconomic background, and early pubertal maturation) on early sexual initiation were entirely mediated by working memory and impulsivity. The findings are discussed in regard to their implications for preventing early sexual onset among adolescents.
Related Concept Videos
Revisionist Views of Adolescent and Adult Cognition
Cognitive Development During Adolescence
Psychosexual Stages of Personality: Latency
The latency period is not considered...
Self-Discrepancy Theory
Psychosexual Theory of Development
The Five Stages of Psychosexual Development
Freud's psychosexual...
Self-Presentation: Self-Monitoring and Self-Handicapping

