engleski

Resilience and risk behavior: Croatian adolescents’ perspective

During the year 2017, Croatian Laboratory for Prevention Research has conducted a project Positive Development of City of Zagreb’s Youth – state of the art. Purpose of the project was to explore the positive development and risk behavior of adolescents. In addition, a picture of strengths and challenges at the individual level and at the level of environments in which young people live was gained (family, school, community). The aim of this paper is to explore the correlation between adolescent resilience traits and their risk behavior. A representative sample included 4821 students from 24 secondary schools inZagreb, Croatian capital. Age of the participants was from 14 to 19 (48.2%female and 43.7% male). Resilience and Youth Development Module, CHKS (CaliforniaDepartment of Education, 1997) and CTC Youth Survey (modified by Mihić, Novak& Bašić, 2011) were applied. Results of analysis have shown that overallCHKS result (protective factors & resilience traits) has a negative correlation with all risk behaviors (school skipping, peer violence, sports results gambling, alcohol and marijuana use). Regarding resilience traits, results have shown that cooperation & communication, empathy and goals& aspiration have a negative correlation with all risk behaviors. Effective help-seeking have a negative correlation with all risk behaviors except skipping school, while general self- efficacy and self-awareness have a positive correlation with sports results gambling. Self- awareness also has a negative correlation with marijuana use. Many studies have shown that resilience is associated with positive youth developmental and less involvement in risk behaviors. From this study, it can be concluded that resilience (in general) and some resilience traits like cooperation & communication, empathy and goals& aspiration are associated with less adolescent engagement in risk behavior - school skipping, peer violence, sports results gambling and alcohol and marijuana use (life time). In the presentation, results will be discussed in more detail.

resilience traits, risk behaviour, adolescents

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