Novelty Seeking, Perceived Stress and Risk-Taking among Young Adults

Description

Vaisshnavi N. and Vyjayanthi Mala (Department of Psychology, Madras School of Social Work, Chennai, Tamil Nadu)

Novelty seeking, is defined as the tendency to pursue novel and intense emotional sensations and experiences, often expressed through curiosity and exploration (Carmen Arenas et al., 2016), and has been associated with risk-taking behaviour. Problem behaviour theory and stress diathesis model suggests that personality traits such as novelty seeking together with perceived environmental demands like stress, jointly shape the likelihood of engaging in problem behaviours. However, limited research has examined how novelty seeking, perceived stress and general risk propensity operate in young adult population. This research examines the relationship between novelty seeking, perceived stress and risk taking among young adults aged 18 to 25. Using non-probability convenience sampling, data were collected online from 275 participants through Curiosity and Exploration Inventory (CEI-II; Kashdan et al., 2009), the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10; Cohen & Williamson, 1988), and the General Risk Propensity Scale (GRiPS; Zhang, Highhouse, & Nye, 2018). Data analysis included Pearson product moment correlation, independent sample t- test and simple linear regression. Results showed that high novelty seeking significantly predicted greater risk taking and was related to lower perceived stress. No significant gender differences emerged in novelty seeking, perceived stress or risk taking. However, young adults who reported regular exercise showed high novelty seeking and lower levels if perceived stress compared to non-exercise. Findings from this study provide insight for counselling, psychotherapy, psychoeducation and planning interventions targeted at promoting healthier forms of exploration while minimizing detrimental risks.