Impulsivity among Male and Female Young Adults: A Comparative Analysis

Aim: Young adulthood is a unique developmental period that occurs between the ages of 18 and 25 years, during which there are key developmental tasks that allow the young adult to participate in self-exploration and identity formation. This period is also characterized by a great deal of impulsive behaviour. The aim of the present study was to compare and assess the levels of impulsivity among male and female young adults. Procedure: The Barratt Impulsiveness Scale (BIS) developed by James A. Patton, Matthew S. Stanford, and Ernest S. Barratt in the year 1995 was used to measure the construct of impulsivity. Data was collected from a sample of 60 individuals (30 males and 30 females) from various colleges and universities of Shimla district of Himachal Pradesh. The scores were subjected to t-test to find out the significance of difference between the levels of impulsivity between male and female young adults. Main findings: The results showed that there was a significant difference between male and female young adults (t=2.05, p<0.05) in impulsivity. The mean score of males (64.33) was also higher than that of females (60.07) indicating that males were more impulsive than females. These differences in impulsivity could be attributed to a number of factors such as genetics, brain chemistry, personality traits, stress, environmental factors, peer influence and social networks and cultural expectations and societal norms. Conclusion: The conclusions drawn from this study can be put to use in order to cater to male and female young adults in various educational and organizational settings to deal effectively with their impulsive behaviour and the subsequent changes that may come with it.