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But a new study suggests that people who believe they have a guardian angel (illustrated) take fewer risks and live less adventurous lives

You might think that people who believe they have an all-powerful protective spirit watching over them would take lots of risks.

But a new study suggests that those who think they have a guardian angel take fewer risks and live less adventurous lives.

The finding is the opposite of what researchers expected.

David Etkin, Professor of Disaster and Emergency Management at York University, Canada, examined the link between belief and risk-taking behaviour.

'We hypothesised that a belief in guardian spirits would tend to be associated with a decreased risk perception and therefore an increase in risk-taking behaviour.

'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.

Professor Etkin and his team interviewed 198 people for the study. 

They noted how interviewees viewed risk, what sort of risky behaviour they participated in and why they chose to do so.

They found that 68 per cent of participants who indicated a belief in guardian spirits said it affects how they take risks, with a clear majority indicating that they are more risk-averse than non-believers, according to the paper published in the journal SAGE open.

For example, volunteers were asked to rate breaking the speed limit by 13 mph (20kph) on a scale of one to five in terms of risk and believers rated it riskier than non-believers.

'It appears that the dominant cause-and-effect relationship is opposite to the one we originally hypothesised,' Professor Etkin said.

'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.'

The researchers found that 68 per cent of participants who indicated a belief in guardian spirits said it affects how they take risks (stock image), with a majority indicating they are more risk-averse than non-believers