Effect of Type and Size of Family on Risk-taking Behaviour

In an attempt to explain cross-cultural differences in results of research relating family environment to achievement motivation and risk-taking behaviour, the differing conceptions of a ‘family’ and the resulting effects on risk-taking behaviour are examined in this study. Risk-taking scores from 75 Indian boys, belonging to joint or nuclear families of variable size, were obtained through the use of the ‘Ball-and-Glass’ game. Results did not show a consistent or strong relationship between nuclear, small family membership and intermediate risk-taking, as is often found in Western countries. Thus different conceptions of the term ‘family’ do not seem likely to account for the cross-cultural differences in research results. Future research directed at explaining these differences might examine the variable child-rearing practices in conjunction with the family type and size distinctions between Western and Eastern countries.