Self-Regulation and Risk Behavior of Adolescents Aged 15–20

INTRODUCTION: According to Brichcín (1999), a self-regulating person is someone who can resist the temptation of immediate gratification of their needs and is capable of achieving challenging goals. Self-regulation represents the ability to make free and responsible choices and actions in relation to oneself, others, and the environment, in spite of deterministic influences. In real life, this relationship may also be reflected by the quality of mental health and engagement in risk behaviors during adolescence (Jessor & Jessor, 1977). The aim of the present paper was to investigate the relationship between selfregulation and risk-taking behavior during adolescence.

METHODS: The research was conducted using a set of questionnaires: (1) Risk Behavior Questionnaire (Mezera, 2000; Slovak modification by Čerešník, 2016) and (2) The Self-regulation Questionnaire (Gavora et al., 2015; Slovak modification by Banárová & Čerešník, 2021). We collected data from 505 adolescents from nearly all regions of Slovakia. The age range of the participants was 15 to 20 years (Mage = 16.97; SDage = 1.15).

RESULTS: We split risk behaviors into three categories: low, medium and high level. Our results showed significant differences in the level of risk behaviors for the variables of impulse control (F (2) = 16.439, p < 0.001), decision-making (F (2) = 6.886, p = 0.001), self-direction (F (2) = 32.720, p < 0.001). We did not find a statistically significant difference for the variable goal orientation (F (2) = 2.855, p = 0.059).

CONCLUSIONS: Statistical analysis supported our hypothesis that self-regulation decreases with increasing behavioral risk.