Clustering pattern of adolescent risky behavior: research results analysis

Involvement in risky behavior has a negative impact on various areas of adolescent life. When a teenager is involved with several types of risky behavior at the same time, or in other words, in the case of clustering of their risky behavior, they are exposed to even more negative influence. Aim: The purpose of this article is to analyze and explain the mechanisms of clustering of risky behavior in adolescence, as there is currently a deficit of such research. Materials and methods. The article presents the results of a study of the risk behavior of secondary school students aged 12-18 years, n=603, of which 61% (n=368) regularly practiced 2-3 types of RP, and 19% (n=115) reported clustering risky behavior (over 4 types). The types of risk behaviors most often associated with a possible adverse outcome for the health and life of adolescents, including self-damaging and suicidal behavior, were investigated. The following scales and methods were used: the Beck depression scale, the Spielberger anxiety scale, the Paykel suicide scale, K. Rogers and R. Diamond social and psychological adaptation test, the Percieved Stress scale and a number of others. To determine the structure of the relationship between the variables, factor analysis with subsequent cluster analysis were used, to determine the influence of the indicators on the target variables, regression analysis was employed. Results. For each type of risky behavior data on its combination with other types, as well as with self-harming and suicidal behavior are presented. Although different types of risky behaviors are combined in different ways, their clustering is almost always associated with deliberate self-harm in adolescents. The most significant results were obtained regarding the relationship between self-harming behavior and smoking (х2=30,395; p=0.00001), drug abuse (х2=18,134; p=0.00001), alcohol (х2=6.324; p=0.00001), provoking extreme behavior (х2=14,161; р=0,0002), unhealthy sexual behavior (х2=9,958; р=0,001). Among adolescents who inflict physical injuries, there are victims of sexual violence (х2=5,164; р=0,02) and the Internet violence (х2=3,925; р=0,05). The results of cluster analysis are introduced, which make it possible to state a hypothesis about the formation of a possible model for clustering risky behavior among adolescents. The author concludes that the involvement into risky behavior can begin as an ordinary teenage experimentation with different kinds of experiences, but the further tendency of risky behavior to cluster is due to the presence of a certain psychological complex in the structure of the adolescent's personality.