The Correlation Between Risk Behaviors And Coping Strategies Of Vocational Middle School Students

The objective of this study is to conduct an overall survey of the risk behaviors of vocational middleschool students (VMSSs), and to obtain the relationship between risk behaviors and corresponding copingstrategies. Western researchers, Americans in particular, initiated systematical studies on risk behaviors ofadolescents as early as 1980s. In China, however, it is only in recent years that such studies have beenconducted. Meanwhile, little effort has been made in systematic and comprehensive studies on therelationship between risk behaviors of VMSSs, which is an important group of adolescents, and copingstrategies. In this study, group-sampling questionnaires are distributed randomly among 850 VMSSs andsenior high school students studying in Jinan City. The questionnaires used for this study are AdolescentRisk Behaviors revised by Zhi Kuiyun, and Simple Coping Strategies by Xie Yaning. Objective questionsinvolve unintentional injury, violence, leaving home and suicide ideation, smoking, alcohol and drugabuses, unprotected sex, improper weight control, unhealthy diet, and lack of physical exercises. In thispaper, the status quo, causes, and corresponding coping strategies of risk behaviors of VMSSs are discussedbased on the statistics obtained by the methodology of SPSS10.0. It is recommended that the followingfindings could be served as a reliable theoretical reference for psychological education among VMSSs.1. Risk behaviors exist among VMSSs extensively and severely.The possibility of risk behaviors of VMSSs including unintentional injury, smoking, alcohol and drugabuses, unhealthy diet, and lack of physical exercises, is much higher than that in the previous surveys.2. Risk behaviors diversify among VMSSs.Occurrences of leaving home and suicide, and unhealthy diet among VMSSs are far higher than thoseamong senior high school students, while occurrences of unintentional injury, violence, smoking, alcoholand drug abuses among male students are significantly higher than those among female students. In sharpcontrast, risk behaviors of lack of physical exercises, and improper weight control among female studentsovertake those among male students. Finally, risk behaviors of smoking, alcohol and drug abuses and lackof physical exercises among VMSSs who has been brought up in one-child family is markedly higher thanotherwise.3. Different risk behaviors of VMSSs are closely correlated.There are significant positive correlations between unintentional injury and violence;leaving home andsuicide;smoking, alcohol and drug abuses, sex. Violence is positively related to leaving home, suicide,drinking, drug abuse, and sexual behavior, while it is negatively related to lack of physical exercises.Leaving home is markedly related to suicide, smoking, alcohol and drug abuses, and sexual behavior;it isnegatively related to lack of physical exercises. Alcohol and drug abuses are positively related to sexbehaviors but negatively related to lack of physical exercises. Sex behavior is negatively related to, whileweight reduction is positively related to lack of physical exercises. Finally, unhealthy diet is positivelyrelated to lack of physical exercises.4. Coping strategies against different risk behaviors vary.Positive coping strategies are more frequently used among senior high school students than among VMSSsand negative coping strategies are more frequently used among VMSSs. Female VMSSs are more likely totake positive coping strategies than male students, whereas there is no significant difference betweenfemale and male students as far as the effectiveness of negative coping strategies are concerned. Finally,there is no significant difference between students from one-child family and otherwise as far as theeffectiveness of positive and negative strategies are considered.5. There is a significant correlation between risk behaviors of VMSSs and coping strategies.Positive coping strategies are negatively related to unintentional injury, smoking and lack of physicalexercises, violence and sexual behavior. In contrast, negative coping strategies are positively related tounintentional injury, violence, leaving home and suicide, smoking, alcohol and drug abuses.