Tendency to High-Risk Behaviors in Adoles-cents and its Related Factors in Bushehr, 2019

High risk behaviors and adolescents’ tendency toward them are one of the main factors that jeopardize community health. The present study was conducted to determine the status of adolescents’ tendency to high-risk behaviors and related factors in the city of Bushehr, Iran.

In this descriptive-analytical cross-sectional study, 716 secondary school students in Bushehr city were selected by cluster sampling method in 2019. The data collection tools included a demographic data form and Iranian adolescent risk-taking scale comprising smoking, violence, and high-risk driving subscales. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and Pearson’s and Spearman’s correlation tests, independent t-test, one-way ANOVA, Kruskal-Wallis and linear regression analysis. Significance level was considered P<0.05 for all tests.

The participants’ mean age was 17.03±0.83 years. High risk driving had the highest mean score (14.5±88.67). There was a direct and significant relationship among all three high-risk behaviors. The presence of smoker friends had direct and significant relationships with all three high-risk behaviors, and the amount of pocket money had a direct and significant relationship with the tendency to high-risk driving (P=0.016).

The results showed that high-risk behaviors were correlated with one another, therefore, adolescents with one high-risk behavior should also be controlled for other high-risk behaviors. Given the significant tendency of adolescents to high-risk driving and its positive relationship with pocket money, it is necessary for parents to have greater control over adolescents’ pocket money.