The Role of Family Function in Predicting the Moral Identity of High School Boys with High-Risk Behaviors

Moral identity is one of the structures proposed in the psychology of morality which develops in the context of the family. The purpose of the present study was to predict the moral identity of high school boys with high-risk behaviors Based on family function components.

In this descriptive-correlational study, the target population consisted of all high school boys in Bostanabad in the academic year of 2018-19. 186 students were selected through random cluster sampling. Brenner et al. (1995) high risk behaviors questionnaire, Epstein et al. (1983) family function questionnaire, and Black and Reynolds (2016) moral identity questionnaire were used for data collection. Descriptive statistics and Pearson correlation and multiple regression tests were used to analyze the data using SPSS software 21.

There was significant negative relationship between moral identity with weak functions of roles, problem solving, emotional expression and general family function (r=0.738, p<0.001). The regression analysis also showed that the components of problem-solving and roles could significantly predict 56 percent of the variance of moral identity.

According to the findings, family function plays an important role in predicting the moral identity of students with high-risk behaviors. Therefore, it is recommended that school counselors hold regular sessions for students 'parents about communication and problem solving skills, and family members' duties.