Predicting the Tendency to Risky Behaviors According to Parenting Style and Mental-Affective Atmosphere Perception of the Family with the Mediation of Healthy Life Style in the Adolescents

The purpose of the present study was to predict the tendency to risky behaviors according to parenting style and mental-affective atmosphere perception of the family with the mediation of healthy lifestyle in the adolescents. The research method was correlational in structural equations modeling type. The statistical population of the study included secondary high school students (adolescents) in the city of Qom in the academic year 2020-2021. The sample of this study included 375 students who were selected through clustered random sampling method. The applied instruments included the Iranian adolescent risk assessment scale (IARS), the parenting styles questionnaire (PSQ), the psychological atmosphere and social family Questionnaire (PASFQ), health lifestyle questionnaire (HLQ). The data analysis from the study was done through Pearson correlation and structural equation modeling methods via SPSS and Amos versions 23. The results of the Pearson correlation analysis showed that there is a significant relationship between the study variables. Moreover, the results showed that authoritative parenting, permissive parenting, and dictatorial parenting have a direct significant effect on the healthy lifestyle of the adolescents (p≤0.001) and succeeded in explaining 27.2, 8.4, and 8.2 Percentage of the variance of this variable respectively. Consistently, the mental-affective atmosphere of the family has a direct significant effect on the healthy lifestyle of the adolescents (p≤0.001) and succeeded in explaining 31.8% of the variance of this variable. Finally, a healthy lifestyle has a direct significant effect on the adolescents’ risky behavior (p≤0.001) and succeeded in explaining 39.4% of the variance of this variable. Therefore, besides enjoying appropriate goodness of fit in this model, the mediation role of a healthy lifestyle was confirmed in the relationship between the mental-affective atmosphere perception of the family as well as the parenting styles and the adolescents’ risky behaviors. According to the mediation role of a healthy lifestyle in the relationship between the variables of the present study, teaching and nurturing a healthy lifestyle should be introduced to the adolescents and this lifestyle model should be promoted and developed through holding appropriate training classes.