A Study on the Relationship between Educational Level of Parents and High Risk Behaviors among Yazd University Students

Social and cultural level of parents is one of the effective factors on children development. To examine the social and cultural levels of families, a standardized measurable quantity is parents’ educational level. This study aims to investigate the relationship between educational level of parents and high risk behaviors (including drugs abuse, smoking, alcohol misuse, violence, sexual relations, and risky driving) among undergraduate students of Yazd University. The subjects included 384 undergraduate students (208 girls and 176 boys) of Yazd University selected by stratified sampling method. The demographic and Iranian adolescent risk- taking questionnaires were used to collect the required dat. There is a significant negative relationship between the educational level of parents and frequency of high risk behaviors among Yazd university students. So, the boys tend to show more high risk behaviors than the girls, and this rate decreases as the subjects become old. It can thus be concluded that with an increase in educational level of parents, rate of high risk behaviors among children decreases and children develop in a family with high level of education commit lesser high risk behaviors. This result then can be useful for authorities.

High risk behavior, educational level of parents, Yazd University, Drugs, Cigarette, Alcohol