Times of regrets: How does the development of regret influence decision making under risk from childhood to adolescence?

Adolescence is frequently described as a period of heightened involvement in risky behaviors that leads to a sudden elevation of mortality and morbidity rates compared to childhood. And yet, this elevation is not the result of a vulnerability to diseases or infections that can affect adults. This review aims to understand this specificity and to determine how the integration of complex negative emotions like regret can improve our understanding of adolescents' decision making. We will first present recent neurodevelopmental models that postulate the existence of two distinct systems affecting decision making an emotional system and a cognitive control system. Then, we will review a series of studies describing the influence of regret in decision making and the development of this counterfactual emotion from childhood to adolescence.