The role of social support, spiritual health and health literacy in predicting the tendency to risky behaviors in adolescents

This study aimed to determine the role of social support, spiritual health and health literacy in predicting the tendency to risky behaviors in adolescents. The present research was cross-sectional from correlation type. The study population was high school students in West Azerbaijan province in the academic years of 2019-2020. The research sample was 560 people who were selected by randomly multi-stage cluster sampling method. Data were collected with using questionnaires of social support (Vaux & et al, 1986), spiritual health (Palutzian & Ellison, 1982), health literacy (Ghanbari & et al, 2016) and tendency to risky behaviors (ZadehMohammadi & et al, 2011) and were analyzed with correlation and multiple regression methods in SPSS-25 software. The results of the analyzes showed that all three variables of social support, spiritual health and health literacy had a significant negative relationship with the tendency to risky behaviors in adolescents. In addition, three variables of social support, spiritual health and health literacy had a significant role in predicting the tendency to risky behaviors in adolescents (p < 0.05). According to the results of the present study, it is necessary to reduce the tendency of risky behaviors by professionals and therapists by increasing social support, spiritual health and health literacy in adolescents. Therefore, counselors and psychologists to reduce risky behaviors in adolescents can increase social support, spiritual health and health literacy.