The mediating role of coping strategies in the relationship between sensation seeking and meta-cognitive beliefs with high-risk behaviors in students

Risky behaviors are considered one of the most complex social harms and one of the main examples of deviations that can be the basis of many social harms. The present study aimed to investigate the relationship between sensation-seeking and metacognitive beliefs with high-risk behaviors in students through the mediating role of coping strategies. The statistical population of this descriptive-correlational study included all high school students in Khansar (Iran) in 2021. Among them, 254 students were selected as samples. The research instruments included the Coping Inventory for Stressful Situations (CISS), the Zuckerman Sensation-seeking Scale-V, the Metacognitions Stretegies Questionnaire, and the Risky Behaviors Questionnaire. Data were analyzed by the Pearson correlation method, simultaneous regression, and structural equation modeling (SEM). The results showed that there was a significant relationship between sensation-seeking and metacognitive beliefs in students, and both variables had a positive and significant relationship with high-risk behaviors. The results showed that there was a significant relationship between sensation-seeking and metacognitive beliefs in students, and both variables had a positive and significant relationship with high-risk behaviors. There was a significant relationship between metacognitive beliefs and coping strategies. Moreover, metacognitive beliefs and coping strategies had a relationship with high-risk behaviors in the students.