AD ALTA
JOURNAL OF INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH
QUALITY OF CLOSE RELATIONS AND RISK BEHAVIOR OF ADOLESCENTS IN THE SYSTEM
OF LOWER SECONDARY EDUCATION IN SLOVAKIA
a
MICHAL
ČEREŠNÍK
Constantine the Philosopher University, Faculty of Education,
Department of Pedagogical and School Psychology,
Dražovská 4, Post code: 949 74, Nitra, Slovakia
email:
a
mceresnik@ukf.sk
Paper is published within the frame of the project Vega 1/0122/17 Risk behavior and
attachment of the adolescents aged from 10 to 15.
Abstract: In the paper we present the conclusions of the research about the close
relations represented by parents and peers and risk behavior production in adolescent
age at Slovak state schools. We introduce the problem on the base of our previous
research results, Jessor`s concept of syndrome of risk behavior in adolescence and
theories of attachment. Research sample consists of 1011 adolescents in the age 10 -
15 from all regions of Slovakia. As the research methods we used QRB (Questionnaire
of Risk Behaviour; Čerešník, 2016) and IPPA-R (Inventory of Parent and Peer
Attachment – Revised; Greenberg, Armsden, 1987). We assumed that the weak close
relations will increase the risk behavior production. The results showed the assumption
can be supported, especially in the relation to mother and father.
Keywords: adolescence, close relations, attachment, risk behavior.
1 Introduction
The risk behavior in the adolescence is the actual problem of the
education and also the health. The adolescence is the period in
our lifetime in which we are the most often endangered by the
risk of the sudden death because of the unwilling activities
(WHO, 1993). We also know the more than half of the
adolescence population behaves risky at least one time in their
life (Smart et al., 2004).
It is not easy to define the risk behavior. It is very dynamic
concept changing in the time. It has many categories as truancy,
addictive behavior, premature sexual activities, bullying,
delinquent behavior, xenophobia, low level physical activities,
squatting etc. (e.g. Miovský, Zapletalová, 2006; Dolejš, 2010;
Širůčková, 2012; Nielsen Sobotková et al., 2014). In many
sources these expressions of the risk behavior are considered for
the psychopathy or sociopathy. We don`t agree with this
categorizations. We consider the risk behavior as the inherent
part of the adolescent development which doesn`t have to be
pathological (according to our estimations only 1 % is truly
pathological). We prefer the theory of Jessor (e.g. Jessor, 1991)
who defined the concept of the syndrome of the risk behavior in
adolescence (SRB-A) according which the adolescent can
behave risky only in concrete area of life and in other areas they
behave adequately. It means that the adolescent tests the
boundaries of this world to discover what are the rules of willing
and unwilling behavior.
But not all of the adolescents are endangered by the threats
represented by the risk behavior and the testing of the boundaries
of the world. Jessor and his colleagues (e.g. Jessor et al., 2003;
Costa, Jessor, Turbin, 2005; Vaszonyi et al., 2008) identified the
protective factors divided into individual, family and society
groups which can help to avoid the risk behavior in the large
amount. Especially we would like to refer to family factors. The
authors wrote that the conditions of the middle class, good
communication, family support, warm relations, common values
leads the behavior which decreases probability of the risk
behavior production in adolescence. If we want to simplify this
conclusion we can say that the good relations among the
adolescent and his/her parents protect the adolescent. They lead
to non-risk behavior of the adolescent (e.g. Tomšik, Verešová,
2019). It is in the concordance with the theory of Bowlby or
Ainsworth (Bowlby, 1969/2010; Ainsworth et al., 1978) about
the attachment.
Some of the newest researches (e.g. Mayerová, 2013;
Ďuricová,
Hašková, 2016;
Čerešníková, Čerešník 2018) show that the
quality of relations among the adolescents and their parents are
problematic. Their conclusions refer to negative relations and
weak or missing guidance in the upbringing of many (more than
2/3) families in Slovakia. It is totally opposite conditions in the
comparison of the willing protective factors mentioned in the
text above. The child/adolescent needs the positive relation
(parental love) and the marking of the boundaries for the health
development. Because the lack of the close positive relations
may leads to problems with the responsibility taking, the
helplessness, the negative emotionality, the ineffective social
strategies, the low self-control and low prosocial orientation (e.g.
O`Connor, Zeanah, 2003
; Čerešníková, 2015; Tomšik, 2018).
The appearance of the risk behavior significantly increases in the
age of approximately 12 years (e.g.
Čerešník, Gatial, 2014;
Čerešník, Dolejš, 2015). It is also the time where the relations
with the parents are perceived by the adolescents as declining
and the relations with the peers are perceived as reinforcing
(Čerešník, 2019). Hereby we can assume that the weakening of
the close relations perceived as important for the adolescents can
be the factor which can influence the level of the risk behavior.
2 Research sample
The research data were acquired from 1011 lower secondary
education pupils in Slovakia, 470 boys and 500 girls in the age
from 10 to 15 (41 of them don`t present the data about the sex).
Their average age was 12,75 years (standard deviation 1,483).
We obtained data in all regions of Slovakia. The representation
of the grades was approximately equivalent.
The parent population was 203172 pupils visiting the 5
th
-9
th
grade of the elementary state school in the school year
2017/2018 (ÚIAP, 2018).
3 Methods
In our research we used two methods. Questionnaire of Risk
Behavio
r (QRB) is the method developed by Čerešník (2016).
The form we used is modified. It consists of 38 items which are
derived from the clinical indicators of the risk behavior. They are
divided into seven subscales: (1) family relations and rituals, (2)
school and friendship, (3) addictive behavior, (4) delinquent
behavior, (5) bullying, (6) eating habits and activities. There is
also the possibility to calculate the total score of the risk
behavior. Participants evaluate the items through Likert scale
with various possibilities of the answers.
IPPA-R (Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment – Revised) is
a method originally developed by Greenberg & Armsden(1987).
In present revised version it consists of 75 items. They are
divided into three scales of 25 items. They map the level of
attachment to the mother, the father and the peers. The task of
the participants is to evaluate the items through the five degree
Likert scale from “never true” to “always true” answers. Each
scale (attachment to mother, attachment to father, attachment to
peers) has three subscales which characterise the level of the
trust, communication and alienation
We formulated following statistical hypotheses:
H1: We assume that the adolescents with strong attachment to
mother will behave fewer risky in the area of the family relations
and rituals.
H2: We assume that the adolescents with strong attachment to
mother will behave fewer risky in the area of the school and
friendship.
H3: We assume that the adolescents with strong attachment to
mother will behave fewer risky in the area of the addictive
behavior.
H4: We assume that the adolescents with strong attachment to
mother will behave fewer risky in the area of the delinquent
behavior.
H5: We assume that the adolescents with strong attachment to
mother will behave fewer risky in the area of the bullying.
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