RESILIENCE, CREATIVITY, AND RISK-TAKING BEHAVIOR AMONG YOUNG ADULTS: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF FIRSTBORN, MIDDLE BORN AND LAST BORN

Abstract

ABSTRACT The present study aims to examine the influence of birth order on specific personality characteristics among young adults. A comparative study was conducted to determine the variations in resilience, creativity, and risk-taking behaviors across different birth order positions in young adults. The sample of the study was 510 young adults aged between 18-30. The study consisted of four hypotheses which explored the variations among different birth orders. Data collection employed a self-designed demographic questionnaire, alongside standardized measures including the Brief Resilience Scale (BRS; Smith, 2008), the Domain Specific Risk-Taking Scale (DOSPERT; Weber et al., 2002), and the Runco Ideational Behavior Scale (RIBS; Runcoet al., 2001). Statistical analyses were performed using SPSS software, version 27. The results of the study showed that last-born siblings had the highest levels of resilience and creativity while risk taking is more associated with first-borns, which means that the two study variables were seen in high degrees in the last-born alone with low levels seen in first and middle born. The findings provided valuable insights into the distinct personality characteristics that were associated with different birth order positions and gave various possible explanations for the differencesthat existed between study variables and different birth orders.