Determining High-risk Behaviors Based on Family Cohesion and Loneliness in Adolescent Girls

Adolescence is a vulnerable and critical period and high-risk behaviors are one of the most important threatening problems for the physical, psychological, and social health of individuals and society.

This study aimed to predict high-risk behaviors based on family cohesion and loneliness in high school adolescent girls.

This research is applied in terms of purpose and correlation design in terms of methodology. The statistical population included 762 adolescent girls in the second year of high school in Sepidan city in the academic year 2020-2021. For this purpose, a sample of 250 people based on Cochran's formula was selected by stratified random sampling. Data were collected by completing the High-Risk Behavior Questionnaires (Zadehmohammadi et al., 2011) the Organized Family Cohesion Scale (Fisher et al., 1992), and the Loneliness Questionnaire (Rasel et al., 1980). Pearson correlation and stepwise regression analysis were used to analyze the data.

The results showed that between family cohesion (total) (r=- 0.602, p<0.01) and all its components; cohesion (p<0.01, r=- 0.440), cooperation (r=- 0.454, p<0.01), clarity of rules (r=- 0.374, p<0.01), cooperation clarity (r=- 0.302, p<0.01) and high-risk behaviors in a negative and significant way and a positive and significant relationship is seen between feeling lonely (r=0.390, p<0.01) and high-risk behaviors. Regression analysis also showed that the variables of family cohesion and loneliness together explain 42.7% of the variance of high-risk behaviors in adolescent girls.

From all the findings, it can be concluded that family cohesion and loneliness are among the factors affecting high-risk behaviors in adolescent girls. The results of this study indicate the protective effect of family cohesion in reducing the tendency to high-risk behaviors and the feeling of loneliness in increasing the tendency to high-risk behaviors in female adolescents.