Those who believe in guardian angels more risk averse: York U study

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TORONTO, September 25, 2014 – Imagine believing that you have an all-powerful spirit watching over you, ready to intervene and protect you from danger. Would that allow you take more risks and live a more adventurous life?

The answer is probably not, according to “Risk Perception and Belief in Guardian Spirits”, a new study out of York University published this week in SAGE Open, which examined the link between belief and risk-taking behaviour.

“We hypothesized that a belief in guardian spirits would tend to be associated with a decreased risk perception and therefore an increase in risk-taking behavior,” says Professor of Disaster and Emergency Management David Etkin, the study’s lead author. “However, we found that instead of this belief making people able to take more risks because they feel protected, the results clearly indicated that those who believe in guardian angels are more likely to be risk-averse.

Etkin and a team of graduate students in the Disaster and Emergency Management Program interviewed 198 people for the study, noting how interviewees viewed risk, what sort of risky behavior they participated in and why they chose to do so. Sixty-eight per cent of those who indicated a belief in guardian spirits said it affected how they take risks, with a clear majority indicating that they were more risk-averse than non-believers. Sample questions included asking on a scale of one to five how risky it would be to drive a car 20 kilometres over the speed limit, with believers rating it riskier than nonbelievers.

“It appears that the dominant cause-and-effect relationship is opposite to the one we originally hypothesized. We think that those who are more risk-averse use belief in guardian spirits as a coping mechanism to deal with their fear and anxiety over perceived risks in their environment,” says Etkin.

He says studying a topic like this in the framework of disaster and emergency management is important because it can help identify differing levels of risk taking in populations when developing community plans for disaster mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery.

York University is helping to shape the global thinkers and thinking that will define tomorrow. York U’s unwavering commitment to excellence reflects a rich diversity of perspectives and a strong sense of social responsibility that sets us apart. A York U degree empowers graduates to thrive in the world and achieve their life goals through a rigorous academic foundation balanced by real-world experiential education. As a globally recognized research centre, York U is fully engaged in the critical discussions that lead to innovative solutions to the most pressing local and global social challenges. York U’s 11 faculties and 27 research centres are thinking bigger, broader and more globally, partnering with 288 leading universities worldwide. York U's community is strong − 55,000 students, 7,000 faculty and staff, and more than 250,000 alumni.

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Media Contact: Robin Heron, Media Relations, York University, 416 736 2100 x22097/ rheron@yorku.ca