Evaluation of the Relationship between Social Skills and Perspective of High-risk Behaviors in Adolescents in Sanandaj, Iran in 2018

 Social skills are among the components that could be related to the occurrence of high-risk behaviors in adolescents. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between social skills and perspective of high-risk behaviors in adolescents in Sanandaj, Iran.

 This correlational-descriptive study was performed on 360 high-school students selected by cluster sampling method. Data were collected using a demographic characteristics questionnaire, Ahmadpour Turkman High-risk Behaviors Questionnaire, and Gresham and Elliott Social Skills Rating System. In addition, data analysis was performed in SPSS version 22 using Chi-square, non-parametric Spearman’s correlation coefficient, and the Kruskal-Wallis test.

 In this study, the majority of the participants were tenth-grade 15 to 19-year-old individuals (66.4%). The mean and standard deviation of high-risk behaviors was estimated at 54.12±10.41. Moreover, the mean and standard deviation of students’ social skills was 9.08±2.51. According to the results, there was a significant, reverse correlation between high-risk behaviors and social skills of the participants.

 According to the results of the study, there was a significant, reverse association between high-risk behaviors and the social skills of the students. Given the importance of adolescence, improvement of social skills can prevent the emergence of high-risk behaviors to some extent.