Risky Behavior in Adults Related to Gender, Age, and Children at Home

Abstract

We predicted that having children at home would reduce risky behavior for women and men, but more so for women than men. More than 450 American adults of different genders, ages and ethnicities were recruited from Prolific. Participants completed a questionnaire to measure engagement in various forms of risky behavior throughout their lifetime, including illegal and risky sexual behavior. Differences in illegal behavior, risky sexual behavior, and other types of risky behavior were found between men and women, F(3, 441) = 9.09, p < .0001, partial  2 = .06, with men reporting more risky behavior of all types. ANCOVAs were used to assess the relationships between gender identity further and having children and total risky behavior and illegal behavior; age was covaried. Significant interactions between IVs revealed that male participants with children at home engaged in significantly more risky sexual behavior, F(1, 441) = 4.24, p = .04, overall risky behavior, F(1, 441) = 3.89, p = .049, and illegal behavior, F(1, 441) = 3.59, p = .059, than those without children at home. For women, there was no relationship between having children at home and risky behavior, illegal behavior, or risky sexual behavior.