The effect of sexual-based empowerment on high-risk behaviors and improving the self-restraint of adolescent girls in the welfare state of the province of East Azarbaijan

Adolescence is one of the most sensitive periods of life due to sexual maturity. Which requires education and empowerment based on sexual health. According to this. This research was conducted to evaluate the effect of sexual-based empowerment on high-risk behaviors and improving the self-restraint of adolescent girls with irresponsible parents, aged between 12-18 years old, in the wellness center of the East-Azarbaijan province. The research-based on the quasi method with pretest-posttest experimental design and includes a control group as well. The statistical population of this research was all the adolescent girls with irresponsible parents, aged between 12-18 years old, in the year 2018. This population reached up to 82 individuals selected from two separate children and adolescent centers, of whom 30 adolescent girls were selected purposefully and assigned to two groups of control (including 15 individuals) and experiment (including 15 individuals). The questionnaires were first delivered to adolescent girls, and then they underwent the training of sexual-based empowerment for a duration of 8 sessions. On the contrary, the control group was not exposed to the aforementioned training steps. To collect the data, three questionnaires from sexual abstinence (Jaffari 2007), high-risk behaviors (Gullone& Moore 2000), and high-risk behavior control systems (Zadeh Mohammad & Ahmad-Abadi 2008) were utilized. The data analysis was carried out by using the statistical approach of covariance analysis. The results of the study indicated that the education of the sexual-based empowerment had a significant effect (p<0.05) on high-risk behaviors and its parameters as well as on the sexual self-restraint of the adolescence. According to the findings of this research, it concluded that sexual health education of adolescents with irresponsible parents due to their psychological problems in the wellness center could play a crucial role in reducing the high-risk behaviors as well as increasing self-restraint against sexual problems.