The Role of Traumatic Experiences and Cognitive Emotion Regulation Strategies in Predicting High-risk Behaviors among Adolescents

نویسندگان

1 PHD of Clinical Psychology, Student Research Committee , University of Social Welfare & Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran

2 MSc of Clinical Psychology, Student Research Committee, University of Social Welfare & Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

3 MSc of Clinical Psychology, Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Social Welfare & Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

4 MSc of Clinical Psychology, Department of Clinical Psychology, University of Social Welfare & Rehabilitation Sciences, Tehran, Iran.

doi
10.22037/ijabs.v5i2.23185
چکیده

Introduction: The goal of the present study was to investigate adolescents’ tendency to engage in high-risk behaviors based on traumatic life experiences and adaptive and maladaptive emotion regulation strategies. Method: A descriptive/correlational design was used. The participants included 220 adolescents (154 girls and 66 boys) who were selected among high-school students in Shiraz, using a convenience sampling method. The Traumatic Experiences Checklist (TEC), the Iranian Adolescents Risk-taking Scale (IARS), and the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Strategies Questionnaire (CERQ) were used collect data. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation coefficient, and regression analysis. Results: According to the results, among traumatic experiences, only emotional abuse (P<0. 001), and among maladaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies, only rumination (P<0. 001) had a significant effect on high-risk behaviors. In addition, no significant relationship was found between adaptive cognitive emotion regulation strategies and tendency to engage in high-risk behaviors. Conclusion: The results suggest that providing training on emotion regulation can help students select adaptive emotion regulation strategies in coping with high-risk situations. Declaration of Interest: None.