The relationship between high school students' personal responsibility levels and their mental health levels: Çukurova, Adana sample

This study aims to find out the relationship between high school students' personal responsibility levels and their mental health levels. Sampling was chosen randomly among the 11th year students in an Anatolian High School and a Religious Vocational High School in Çukorova district of Adana province. The study was conducted on 427 students total from both school types. 'Student Personal Responsibility Scale' and 'Brief Symptom Inventory' were used as data collection tools. Independent variables of the research are school type, gender, socio-economic level of family, parents' educational level and marital status, the number and birth order of siblings, the level of internet and social media use. According to the findings, there was not a significant difference between the school type and the adolescents' individual responsibility levels. Besides, it was revealed that parents' educational level, marital status and employment status had no effect on adolescents' taking responsibility. However, it was found out that girls' responsibility level was higher than boys; responsibility level decreased when the students spent more time on the net; a first-born child's responsibility level was higher; and an only child's responsibility level was lower. In Brief Symptom Inventory (BSI), Depression, Anxiety, Negative Sense of Self, Somatization and Hostility subtests, significant differences appeared in favour of girls. It was also found out that only child's and middle child's negative sense of self were higher, mother's educational level had no effect on mental health, father's educational level showed a significant difference in hostility level, parents' marital and working status and economic level were not effective on adolescents' mental health. In addition, a meaningful significant difference was found out between the use of internet and mental health parameters over BSI. The relationship between personal responsibility scale and BSI subscales was negative whereas BSI subscales had a positive relationship among themselves. Keywords: Adolescence, responsibility, mental health, anxiety, depression, somatization, negative sense of self, hostility.