Title : Adolescent health risk behaviors and the mediating effects of family dynamics and socio- demographic factors
Abstract:
Background: Dramatic physical development, socioemotional adjustment, and cognitive changes highlight adolescent development. Adolescent brains are susceptible to emotional reactivity, making them likely to engage in risk-taking and impulsive behaviors. The family is crucial in laying the foundations of good health.
Aims: This study determined the degree of family cohesion, quality of father-child and mother- child relationships, and degree of academic pressure across cultures, age groups, and sexual orientations. Further, it sought the prevalence of adolescent health concerns, including suicide risks, risk-taking behaviors, social media engagement, and self-care deviations. Finally, the correlations between health risk behaviors and the elements of family dynamics was unraveled.
Methods: The descriptive-correlational design served as the blueprint for this study. Data were collected from 1095 adolescents aged 12-21 in two high schools and two universities in Baguio City using self-report questionnaires. Data was analyzed using Microsoft Excel Toolpak and IBM SPSS Statistics to identify significant differences and relationships among variables through descriptive statistics (frequency, %, means and figures) and inferential statistics (ANOVA and logistic regression).
Results and Discussion: Adolescents generally have strong family cohesion(FC), high-quality of father-child relationships(F-CR), very high-quality of mother-child relationships(M-CR), and experience high academic pressure(AP). Cultural affiliation does not influence the 4 elements of family dynamics; the higher the age, the stronger the family cohesion; males score significantly higher on family cohesion and mother child relationship, while significantly lower in perceived academic pressure compared to their female and LGBT counterpart. Suicide risk is prevalent among 29-63% of the population, safety issues has lowest prevalence for having abusive relationship (8.22%) and highest for encountering major family changes(53.52%). Substance use was highest for vaping (22.74%), sexual engagement occurs in 14.61% of the population, while 63% are engaged in social media for >5 hours/day. Self care deviation is highest for weight concerns (63.39%), lack of visit to health care professional (64.65%) and lack of exercise (49.94%). All 4 elements of family dynamic (FC, F-CR, M-CR and AP) are significantly associated with safety concerns, suicide risks and social media engagement, while M-CR significantly influences cigarette smoking, alcohol drinking, rugby use and engagement in sex.
Conclusion and Recommendations: Strong family cohesion and quality parent-child interactions improve emotional and behavioral outcomes. Sexual orientation has a significant impact on academic pressure and social media use, demanding targeted treatments. The link between family dynamics and health-risk behaviors emphasizes the importance of promoting positive family relationships and encouraging safer behaviors, which are critical for increasing adolescents' well- being.
