Investigation of problem solving abilities peer and family relationships on adolescent risk taking behavior

It is known that risk taking behaviors have many negative effects on adolescents. In order to help the adolescents experiencing problems due to risk taking behaviors, the predictors of these behaviors should be identified. This study investigated risk taking behaviors of peers, quality of relationships with peers and parents, and interpersonal problem solving skills using Problem Behavior Theory. The sample of the study consisted of 1067 high school students whose ages ranged from 15 to 18 years. The sample was asked to complete a number of questionnaires including Personal Information Form, Risk Taking Scale, Adolescent Family Process Measure, Peer Relationship Scale, Deviant Behavior of Peers Scale, Interpersonal Problem Solving Inventory. The hierarchical regression analyses showed that being male, high SES, higher conflict with the mother, lower constructive problem solving skills, higher peer acceptance by the mothers, higher loyalty and trust to friends, low confidence, more alcohol users in their families are risk factors of risk taking behaviors. It is found that the the strongest predictor of risk taking behaviors is the close structure of the Perceived Environment System, followed by the distal structure of the Perceived Environmental System. The Social Environment System is the third in terms of the predictive power, and finally the system that provides the lowest contribution to the variance is the personality system. The findings are discussed in the light of the literature.