The Relationship Between Religion and Risky Behaviors Among Iranian University Students

Abstract

One factor that protects an individual from risky behavior is religiosity, which is referred to as a shield against risky behaviors. Belief in God and religion plays an important role in young people's lives, and in comparison with their non-religious peers. They engage less frequently in risky behaviors, such as violence and sexual relations. The present study investigated the relationship between religiosity and engagement in risky behaviors among students from the Pishva branch of the Islamic Azad University, Tehran Province in Iran. This is a descriptive, analytic cross-sectional study. The sample was comprised of 448 students from different degree majors attending the University. Participants completed two questionnaires, including the Risk-Taking Scale and Duke University Religion Index. The data analyses used one-way ANOVAs and Pearson's correlations. This study found that students who engaged more often in organized religious activities and had higher intrinsic religiosity were less likely to engage in risky behaviors such as sexual risk taking, careless driving, violence, smoking, along with alcohol and drug abuse. Participants with higher involvement in private religious activities reported lower tendencies for the above-mentioned risky behaviors, except sexual risk taking. The findings of this study indicate that the different dimensions of religiousness are related to students' tendency to avoid risky behavior. Thus, it appears that religion may have a role to play in preventing risky taking behavior in Iran.

Cigarette, waterpipe and e-cigarette use among an international sample of medical students. Cross-sectional multicenter study in Germany and Hungary

“…In the entire sample, prevalence of cigarette smoking was lower in students who reported high religiosity. Religious involvement was preventive in other populations as well [ 10 , 11 ]. There is evidence that religiosity is associated with a lower prevalence of smoking initiation [ 11 ].…”

Health Related Risky Behaviors of University Students Studying at Midwifery Department

“…Üniversite döneminde olan gençlerin akademik, arkadaş grupları ve toplumsal yaşamları ile ilgili stres düzeyleri artmakta, duyguları hızla değişebilmekte ve riskli davranış eğilimlerinde artış olabilmektedir. [2][3][4]12 Bu araştırmadan elde edilen bulguların sağlık ile ilgili eğitim alan öğrenciler ile yapılan bazı çalışmalarla benzerlik gösterdiği görülmüştür. [15][16][17][18] Bunun nedeni öğrencilerin yaşadıkları sıkıntıların, karşılaştıkları zorlukların benzer olması ve başa çıkmak için riskli davranışlara yönelmesi ile açıklanmıştır.…”

“…1 Gençler için üniversiteye girmek, yaşamlarındaki değişimin en önemli aşamalarından birini oluşturmakta, çoğunluğu evlerinden uzakta yaşamaktadır. 2 Bu dönemde öğrencilerin mesleki, sosyal ve kimlik gelişimleri önem kazanmakta, kendini tanıma, problem çözme, karar verme ve sosyal etkileşim için gerekli becerileri kazanması beklenmektedir. Ayrıca öğrencilerin yaşam tarzındaki değişiklikler bireylere yeni deneyimler sunmakta ve sağlıklı bir yaşam biçimi seçmelerine engel olabilmektedir.…”

The comparison of spiritual health and self-esteem in women with and without sexual violence

“…Pezzella et al did not find any association between religion and general health, but did find an inverse relationship between religion and risky behavior such as substance abuse, and extramarital and unprotected sex ( 29 ). Chamratrithirong et al also showed that there is a positive association between parental spirituality and prevention of adolescent risk behaviors ( 30 ) and another study in Iran indicates that religion has a role in preventing risk taking behaviors such as sexual risk taking ( 31 ). It seems that spirituality and religious behaviors have a protective role in women from exposure to inappropriate circumstances.…”