Do Adolescent Twins and Singletons Differ in Obsessive-Compulsive or Risk-Taking Behaviour? A Study from Kerala, South India

Page: 422-428
Jessy Fenn and Muhammed Siddique (Department of Psychology, Rajagiri College of Social Sciences (Autonomous), Kochi, Kerala and Rajagiri College of Social Sciences (Autonomous), Kochi, Kerala)

Twins are subject to a similar environment and their togetherness experience can lead to increased confidence manifested as increased risk taking or the constant comparison and expectation of similar performance can also lead to anxiety and obsessive compulsive traits. This study aims to find the level of risk taking and prevalence of obsessive compulsive traits among twins as well as the relationship between their experience as twins to the risk-taking and obsessive behaviour. A sample of 100 adolescents, 50 being one of a twin pair and 50 singleton adolescents, from Kodinhi village, known for its high twin population, were studied using the Toronto Obsessive-Compulsive Scale, Risk Taking-18 and data on twin behaviour. Datawas analyzed employing the Kolmogorov Smirnov test, Kruskal-Wallis test, Mann-Whitney test and Spearman’s Correlation. The findings suggest that twins are significantly higher in obsessive compulsive traits than singletons and that they are significantly lower on risk taking. There was a significant negative relationship between obsessive-compulsive traits and risk-taking. We also found out a significant relationship between people’s comparison of twins and the level of obsessive-compulsive traits in them.