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Criminology & Social Integration : journal for criminology, penology and behaviour problems, Vol. 20 No. 1, 2012.

Original scientific paper

THE RELATION BETWEEN MEDIA AND ADOLESCENT RISK BEHAVIOURS

Goran Livazović orcid id orcid.org/0000-0002-0277-5534 ; Department of pedagogy, Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, University J.J. Strossmayer, Osijek

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Abstract

The goal of this paper is to examine the media impact on adolescent risky behaviours. The study was conducted during the 2010/2011 acad. year on 735 adolescents using a 5 dimensional questionnaire on socioeconomic status, media exposure-content dimension, the internal and external behaviour dimension, and the risk-protective interactions dimension. The data was interpreted using descriptive and inferential statistics, including ANOVA, t-test for independent samples, correlations and regression analysis.
The socioeconomic status shows gender and school achievement as the most significant predictors of risky behaviours.
Gender predicts aggressive (r=.24, p< .001) and risky sexual behaviour (r=.15, p< .001) for boys, and cyber bullying (r=.14, p< .001), eating disorders (r=.19, p< .001), absenteeism (r=.22, p< .001), media addiction (r=.26, p< .001), body image disorder (r=.50, p< .001) and mean world syndrome (r=.47, p< .001) for girls.
School achievement predicts risky sexual behaviour (r=.17, p< .001) and absenteeism (r=.21, p< .001) for lower, and eating disorders (r=.12, p< .001), media addiction and body image disorders for higher achieving students.
Adolescent interest for negative media contents predicts aggressive (r=.32, p< .001), opiate addiction (r=.27, p< .001), risky sexual behaviour (r=.19, p< .001), absenteeism (r=.19, p< .001) and cyber bullying (r=.11, p< .05).
Interest for educational media contents negatively predicts media addiction (r= -.08, p< .05).
Interest for fun media contents predicts risky sexual behaviour (r=.08, p< .05), media addiction (r=.10, p< .01) and mean world syndrome (r=.12, p< .05).
Media use negatively predicts risky sexual behaviour and exposure to cyber bullying, but positively predicts media addiction (r=.29, p< .001), as well.
More quality family, school and peer relationships are generally negative predictors of risky behaviours, and are justifiably considered as a risk-protective dimension, while more quality and active leisure time predicts a greater prevalence of externalised antisocial behaviours, but lower media addiction and mean world syndrome.

Keywords

media; adolescents; risky behaviour; risk and protective factors

Hrčak ID:

84999

URI

https://hrcak.srce.hr/84999

Publication date:

27.7.2012.

Article data in other languages: croatian

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