Developmental Neuroscience of Puberty and Adolescent Risk Behaviour in Nigerian Youth: Integrating Biological and Contextual Models

This study develops an integrated biological-contextual model of pubertal neurodevelopment and adolescent risk behaviour in Nigerian youth, combining hormonal, neuropsychological, and ecological data from a multi-site study in Rivers State, Oyo State, and Kano State. The dual systems model of adolescent risk-taking, emphasising imbalances between limbic system reward sensitivity and prefrontal regulatory control during puberty, has primarily been tested in Western clinical and community samples. This research recruited 360 early adolescents aged 10 to 14 years, assessing pubertal timing through the Pubertal Development Scale and physical assessment, hormonal measures via salivary testosterone and estradiol, prefrontal executive function through a computerised task battery, and risk-taking behaviour via self-report and behavioural economic paradigms. Ecological variables including family supervision, peer deviance, and neighbourhood safety were assessed through validated instruments. Structural equation modelling tested the integrated dual systems-ecological model. Results indicate that early pubertal timing significantly predicts elevated risk-taking, mediated by heightened reward sensitivity but moderated by prefrontal executive function strength. Family supervision demonstrated the most robust ecological moderating effect, attenuating the biology-risk pathway particularly in female participants. Zone-specific contexts produced meaningful variation in risk behaviour profiles. The study provides the first bio-ecological adolescent risk model tested with Nigerian data and recommends developmentally informed, family-centred adolescent health programmes. Keywords: pubertal development, risk behaviour, adolescents, dual systems model, Nigeria.