Prediction of Risky Behaviors in Adolescents: Effect of Character Strengths and Being Virtuous
The purpose of the present study is to determine if high school students' character strengths composed of twenty-four different features, being vi.
- Pub. date: April 15, 2019
- Pages: 501-513
- 886 Downloads
- 1366 Views
- 6 Citations
The purpose of the present study is to determine if high school students' character strengths composed of twenty-four different features, being virtuous including six dimensions and demographic characteristics predict risky behaviors. The participants of the study were 380 students aged between 14-19 years and enrolled in general high schools. The data was collected by using the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths for Young People and the Risky Behaviors Scale. From the findings, it was determined that the risk of school drop-out score was higher in the ninth grades and the male students had more risky behaviors compared to the their female counterparts. Moreover, it was also determined that the risky behaviors were significantly related to many character strengths. Besides this, as a result of the regression analyses, it was found that the character strengths predicted risky behaviors composed of the areas of anti-social behaviors, use of alcohol/cigarette, eating habits, suicide tendency and school leave at different levels. The findings were discussed within the context of adolescents’ psychological counseling needs and suggestionThe purpose of the present study is to determine if high school students' character strengths composed of twenty-four different strengths, virtues including six dimensions and demographic characteristics predict risky behaviors. The participants of the study were 380 students aged between 14-19 years and enrolled in general high schools. The data was collected by using the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths for Youth and the Risky Behaviors Scale. From the findings, it was determined that the risk of school drop-out score was higher in the ninth grades and the male students had more risky behaviors compared to their female counterparts. Moreover, it was also determined that the risky behaviors were significantly related to many character strengths. Besides this, as a result of the regression analyses, it was found that the character strengths predicted risky behaviors composed of the areas of anti-social behaviors, use of alcohol/cigarette, eating habits, suicide tendency and school dropout at different levels. The findings were discussed within the context of adolescents’ psychological counseling needs and suggestions were proposed.
Keywords: Character strengths, virtues, risky behaviors, adolescents
References
Anderson, B., Costello, B., & Stein, M. (2008). Self-control and adverse consequences of alcohol use. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the ASC Annual Meeting, St. Louis Adam's Mark, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
Arfken, C. L., Ahmed, S., & Abu-Ras, W. (2013). Under the influence: Alcohol use among Muslim College Students. Institute for Social Policy and Understanding. Retrieved from https://www.ispu.org
Bhatt, G., Tweed, R., Dooley, S., Viljoen, J., Douglas, K., Gagnon, N., & Besla, K. (2012). Gender differences in character strengths, social connections, and beliefs about crime among adolescents. International Journal of Social Sciences and Humanity Studies, 4(1), 149–159.
Bolland, J. M. (2003). Hopelessness and risk behaviour among adolescents living in high-poverty inner-city neighbourhoods. Journal of Adolescence, 26(2), 145–158.
Byrd-Bredbenner, C., Abbot, J. M., Wheatley, V., Schaffner, D., Bruhn, C., & Blalock, L. (2008). Risky eating behaviors of young adults-Implications for food safety education. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 108(3), 549–552.
Center for Mental Health in Schools at UCLA (2007). Youth risk taking behavior: The role of schools. Los Angeles, CA: Author.
Creswell, J. W., & Guetterman, T. C. (2019). Educational research planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research (6th ed.). New York, NY: Pearson.
Croll, J., Neumark-Sztainer, D., Story, M., & Ireland, M. (2002). Prevalence and risk and protective factors related to disordered eating behaviors among adolescents: Relationship to gender and ethnicity. Journal of Adolescent Health, 31(2), 166–175.
Ceviren, A. S. (2001). Uc farkli nitelikteki lise 2. sinif ogrencilerinin riskli davranislarinin degerlendirilmesi (Ankara-Kecioren) [Evaluation of risky behaviors of three different high school's students (Ankara-Kecioren)]. (Unpublished master’s thesis), Ankara University, Ankara, Turkey.
Cokluk, O., Sekercioglu, G. & Buyukozturk, S. (2012). Sosyal bilimler icin cok degiskenli istatistik: SPSS ve LISREL uygulamalari [Multivariate statistics for social sciences: SPSS and LISREL applications]. Ankara, Turkey: Pegem Akademi.
Davidson, C. L., Wingate, L. R., Slish, M. L., & Rasmussen, K. A. (2010). The great black hope: Hope and its relation to suicide risk among African Americans. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 40(2), 170–180. doi: 10.1521/suli.2010.40.2.170.
Drewry, J. A. (2007). High school dropout experiences: A social capital perspective (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA, USA.
Durak Batigun, A. (2008). Intihar olasiligi ve cinsiyet: Iletisim becerileri, yasami surdurme nedenleri, yalnizlik ve umutsuzluk acisindan bir inceleme [Suicide Risk and Gender: An Evaluation of Suicide in Respect to Interpersonal Relationship Style, Reasons for Living, Loneliness, and Hopelessness]. Turkish Journal of Psychology, 23(62), 65–75.
Eroglu, A. (2010). Cok degiskenli istatistik tekniklerin varsayimlari [Assumptions of multivariate statistical techniques]. In S. Kalayci (Ed.), SPSS uygulamali cok degiskenli istatistik teknikleri [SPSS Applied Multivariate Statistical Techniques] (5th ed.). Ankara, Turkey: Asil.
Evans, T. D., Cullen, F. T., Dunaway, R. G., & Burton, J. V. S. (1995). Religion and crime re-examined: The impact of religion, secular controls, and social ecology on adult criminality. Criminology, 33(2), 195–224.
Field, A. (2009). Discovering statistics using SPSS (3rd ed.). London, UK: SAGE.
Fulkerson, J. A., Story, M., Mellin, A., Leffert, N., Neumark-Sztainer, D., & French, S. A. (2006). Family dinner meal frequency and adolescent development: Relationships with developmental assets and high-risk behaviors. Journal of Adolescent Health, 39(3), 337–345.
Franks, J. (2011). The role of students' strengths in the experiences and effects of bullying on peer relationships, academic achievement, and behavioural and emotional functioning (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Lakehead University, Canada.
Genctanirim-Kuru, D. (2010). Ergenlerde riskli davranislarin yordanmasi [Prediction of risk behaviours among adolescents] (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Hacettepe University, Ankara, Turkey.
Ghandour, L. A., Karam, E. G., & Maalouf, W. E. (2009). Lifetime alcohol use, abuse and dependence among university students in Lebanon: Exploring the role of religiosity in different religious faiths. Addiction, 104(6), 940–948. doi: 10.1111/j.1360-0443.2009.02575.x
Guney, N. (2007). Ergenlikte risk almanin icsel kaynaklarinin benmerkezlilik, akran baskisi, sosyo-ekonomik duzey ve cinsiyet acisindan incelenmesi [The investigation of the motives for adolescents risk taking in terms of egocentrism, peer pressure, socio-economic status and gender] (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Ankara Universitesi, Ankara, Turkey.
Hardy, S. A., & Carlo, G. (2005). Religiosity and prosocial behaviours in adolescence: The mediating role of prosocial values. Journal of Moral Education, 34(2), 231–249.
Hawkins, R. L., Jaccard, J., & Needle, E. (2013). Nonacademic factors associated with dropping out of high school: Adolescent problem behaviors. Journal of the Society for Social Work and Research, 4(2), 58–75. doi:10.5243/jsswr.2013.5
Herndon, J. S. (2011). The effects of delay of gratification on the academic achievement, substance abuse, and violent behavior of middle-school students in alternative learning settings (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). College of Education, University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida, USA.
Kabakci, O. F. (2013). Karakter gucleri acisindan pozitif genclik gelisiminin incelenmesi [The Investigation of Positive Youth Development in terms of Character Strengths] (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). Hacettepe Universitesi, Ankara, Turkey.
Kagan, S., Deardorff, J., McCright, J., Lightfoot, M., Lahiff, M., & Lippman, S. A. (2012). Hopelessness and sexual risk behavior among adolescent African American males in a low-income urban community. American Journal of Men's Health, 6(5), 395–399. doi: 10.1177/1557988312439407
Karris, M. E. (2007). Character strengths and well-being in a college sample (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Colorado, Boulder, CO, USA.
Keltner, D., & Haidt, J. (2003). Approaching awe, a moral, spiritual, and aesthetic emotion. Cognition and Emotion, 17(2), 297–314.
Kendler, K. S., Liu, X. Q., Gardner, C. O., McCullough, M. E., Larson, D., & Prescott, C. A. (2003). Dimensions of religiosity and their relationship to lifetime psychiatric and substance abuse disorders. American Journal of Psychiatry, 160(3), 496–503.
Klonsky, D. E., Kotov, R., Bakst, S., Rabinowitz, J., & Bromet, E. J. (2012), Hopelessness as a Predictor of Attempted Suicide among First Admission Patients with Psychosis: A 10‐year Cohort Study. Suicide and Life‐Threatening Behavior, 42(1), 1–10. doi:10.1111/j.1943-278X.2011.00066.x
Kuo, W. H., Gallo, J. J., & Eaton, W. W. (2004). Hopelessness, depression, substance disorder, and suicidality: A 13-year community based study. Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology, 39(6), 497–501.
Krueger, R. F., Caspi, A., Moffitt, T. E., White, J., & Stouthamer-Loeber, M. (1996). Delay of gratification, psychopathology, and personality: Is low self-control specific to externalizing problems? Journal of Personality, 64(1), 107–129.
Ma, M., Kibler, J. L., Dollar, K. M., Sly, K., Samuels, D., Benford, M. W., Coleman, M., Lott, L., Patterson, K., & Wiley, F. (2008). The relationship of character strengths to sexual behaviors and related risks among African American adolescents. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 15(4), 319–327.
McWhirter, J. J., McWhirter, B. T., McWhirter, A. M., & McWhirter, E. H. (1998). At risk youth a comprehensive response (2nd ed.). Pacific Grove, CA: Brooks/Cole Publishing.
Muraven, M. (2010). Practicing self-control lowers the risk of smoking lapse. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 24(3), 446–452.
Muris, P. (2009). Fear and courage in children: Two sides of the same coin? Journal of Child and Family Studies, 18(4), 486–490.
Niemiec, R. M., Rashid, T., & Spinella, M. (2012). Strong mindfulness: Integrating mindfulness and character strengths. Journal of Mental Health Counseling, 34(3), 240–253.
Niemiec, R. M. (2013). VIA character strengths: Research and practice (the first 10 years). In H.H. Knoop and A. Delle Fave (Eds.), Well-being and cultures: Perspectives from positive psychology, cross-cultural advancements in positive psychology (pp. 11–29). Berlin, Germany: Springer.
Noftle, E. E., Schnitker, S. A., & Robins, R. W. (2011). Character and personality: Connections between positive psychology and personality psychology. In K. Sheldon, T. Kashdan, & M. Steger, (Eds.), Designing the future of positive psychology: Taking stock and moving forward (pp. 207–227). New York: Oxford University Press.
Nystrom, R. J., Prata , A., & Ramowski, S. K. (2008). Measuring positive youth development: The development of a state benchmark. Journal of Youth Development, 3(1). doi: 10.5195/jyd.2008.318
O'Keefe, V. M., & Wingate, L. R. (2013). The role of hope and optimism in suicide risk for American Indians/Alaska Natives. Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior, 43(6), 621–633. doi:10.1111/sltb.12044
Owens, R. L. (2011). The development and initial validation of the preschool strengths inventory (Unpublished doctoral dissertation). University of Kansas, Lawrence, KS, USA.
Ozer, A., Genctanirim, D., & Ergene, T. (2011). Turk lise ogrencilerinde okul terkinin yordanmasi: Araci ve etkilesim degiskenleri ile bir model testi [Prediction of school dropout among turkish high school students: A model testing with moderator and mediator variables]. Egitim ve Bilim, 36(161), 302–317.
Ozmen, O. (2006). Turk ergenlerinde risk alma davranislarini yordayan degiskenler [Predictors of risk-taking behaviors among Turkish adolescents] (Unpublished master’s thesis). Ortadogu Teknik Universitesi, Ankara, Turkey.
Park, N., & Peterson, C. (2006). Moral competence and character strengths among adolescents: The development and validation of the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths for Youth. Journal of Adolescence, 29(6), 891–909.
Park, N., & Peterson, C. (2009). Strengths of character in schools. In R. Gilman, E. S. Huebner & M.J. Furlong (Eds.), Handbook of positive psychology in schools (pp. 65–76). New York, NY: Routledge.
Payne, K. F. (2008). A comparative study of dietary habits among college students at-risk and not-at-risk for eating disorders and how such habits compare to the dietary guidelines (Unpublished master’s thesis). Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg, VA.
Peterson, C. (2006). The Values in Action (VIA) classification of strengths: The un-DSM and the real DSM. In M. Csikszentmihalyi, & I. Csikszentmihalyi (Eds.) A Life Worth Living: Contributions to Positive Psychology (pp. 29–48). New York: Oxford University Press.
Peterson, C., & Seligman, M. E. P. (2004). Character strengths and virtues a handbook and classification. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
Quinn, P. D., & Fromme, K. (2010). Self-regulation as a protective factor against risky drinking and sexual behavior. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 24(3), 376–385. doi:10.1037/a0018547
Scott, D. L. (2007). Self-control and juvenile delinquency: A preliminary assessment of Hirschi’s reconceptualization of self-control (Unpublished master’s thesis). Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama, USA.
Seider, S., Gilbert, J. K., Novick, S., & Gomez, J. (2013). The role of moral and performance character strengths in predicting achievement and conduct among urban middle school students. Teachers College Record, 115(8), 1–34.
Shoshani, A., & Aviv, I. (2012). The pillars of strength for first-grade adjustment-Parental and children's character strengths and the transition to elementary school. The Journal of Positive Psychology, 7(4), 315–326. doi: 10.1080/17439760.2012.691981
Shoshani, A., & Slone, M. (2013). Middle school transition from the strengths perspective: Young adolescents’ character strengths, subjective well-being, and school adjustment. Journal of Happiness Studies, 14(4), 1163–1181.
Steiner, H., Kwan, W., Shaffer, T. G., Walker, S., Miller, S., Sagar, A., & Lock, J. (2003). Risk and protective factors for juvenile eating disorders. European Child ve Adolescent Psychiatry, 12(Suppl 1), i38–i46.
Tangney, J. P., Baumeister, R. F., & Boone, A. L. (2004). High self-control predicts good adjustment, less pathology, better grades, and interpersonal success. Journal of Personality, 72(2), 271–324.
Tas, A., Selvitopu, A., Bora, V., & Demirkaya, Y. (2013). Meslek lisesi ogrencilerinin okul terk nedenleri [Reasons for dropout for vocational high school students]. Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, 13(3), 1551–1556.
Wagner, M. K. (2001). Behavioral characteristics related to substance abuse and risk-taking, sensation-seeking, anxiety sensitivity, and self-reinforcement. Addictive Behaviors, 26(1), 115–120.
Wallen, N. E., & Fraenkel, J. R. (2001). Educational research: A guide to the process (2nd ed.). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates Publishers.
Weber, M., Ruch, W., Littman-Ovadia, H., Lavy, S., & Gai, O. (2013). Relationships among higher-order strengths factors, subjective well-being, and general self-efficacy – The case of Israeli adolescents. Personality and Individual Differences, 55(3), 322–327.
Yaprak, G. (2006). Ilkogretim ikinci kademe cocuklarinda psikoaktif madde kullanimina iliskin semptomlara sahip olma duzeyi ve okul basarisi (risk altindaki cocuklarin madde kullanimini onlemeye iliskin egitim programi onerisi) [The degree of the having symptoms of using psychoactive drugs of second level primary school children and their success (the education program offer to prevent the using of the children who are under risk] (Unpublished masters’s thesis). Nigde Universitesi, Nigde, Turkey.
Zuckerman, M. (2007). Sensation seeking and risky behavior. Washington, DC, US: American Psychological Association.
Zuckerman, M., & Kuhlman, D. M. (2000). Personality and risk-taking: Common biosocial factors. Journal of Personality, 68(6), 999–1029.