Reasoning the Grounds of Risk-Taking Behaviour Among Final Year College Students

Abstract

This study explores the impact of Perfectionism and negative Adult Attachment Styles on Risk-Taking Behaviour, with gender as a moderating variable, among final-year college students. Perfectionism is defined as the tendency to set high standards and the associated distress when failing to meet them, while Attachment Styles refer to patterns of emotional bonds formed in relationships, particularly anxious and avoidant attachments. Validated questionnaires, such as the Experiences in Close Relationships-Relationship Structures (ECR-RS) questionnaire, the Short Almost Perfect Scale (SAPS), and the General Risk Propensity Scale (GRiPS), were used to gather data from 148 final-year college students. SPSS statistical study produced a number of important conclusions. First, the study discovered a moderate positive correlation between increased risk-taking behavior and perfectionism standards and discrepancies. Additionally, it revealed a positive correlation between risk-taking inclinations with anxious and avoidant attachment styles. Furthermore, the regression analysis indicated that independent variables could predict the Risk-Taking Behaviours in which Perfectionistic Discrepancies were the strongest predictor of all. Gender was found to moderate the relationship between Negative Attachment Styles, Perfectionism Concern and risk-taking, increasing the explanatory power of the model. These findings underscore the importance of addressing Perfectionism concern and Attachment Insecurities in counselling and educational interventions to mitigate Risky Behaviours among college students.