Family and the Risky Behaviors of High School Students

BACKGROUND Family plays an important role in helping adolescent acquiring skills or strengthening their characters. OBJECTIVES We aimed to evaluate the influences of family factors, risky and protective, on adolescent health-risk behavior (HRB). PATIENTS AND METHODS In this cross-sectional study, students of high schools in Kerman, Iran at all levels participated, during November 2011 till December 2011. The research sample included 1024 students (588 females and 436 males) aged 15 to 19 years. A CTC (Communities That Care Youth Survey) questionnaire was designed in order to collect the profile of the students' risky behaviors. Stratified cluster sampling method was used to collect the data. RESULTS Using logistic regression, 7 variables enrolled; 4 of them were risk factors and 3 were protective factors. The risk factors were age, (linear effect, ORa = 1.20, P = 0.001), boys versus girls (ORa = 2.33, P = 0.001), family history of antisocial behavior (ORa = 2.29, P = 0.001), and parental attitudes favorable toward antisocial behavior (ORa = 1.72, P = 0.03). And, protective factors were family religiosity (ORa = 0.65, P = 0.001), father education (linear effect, ORa = 0.48, P = 0.001), and family attachment (ORa = 0.78, P = 0.001). CONCLUSIONS Our findings showed that family has a very significant role in protecting students against risky behaviors. The education level of the father, family religiosity, and attachment were the most important factors.