Pediatric Nursing and Healthcare

Biography

Biography: Selen Ozakar Akca

Abstract

Early diagnosis and prevention of risky behaviors of the youth, counseling and guidance services are among the important roles of professionals working with young people. In this study it was aimed to determine the sexual behavior, substance abuse and driving entertaining/motor vehicles attitudes of 16-18 years old young people, who constitute the most risky age range in the adolescence period. All young people in the 16-18 age group of vocational school (N=980) created the universe of the study, no sample selection was made and volunteers consisted the sample of the study (n=790). The questionnaire (QF) including young persons’ socio-demographic characteristics, sexual behaviours, substance abuse and driving entertaining/motor vehicles attitudes determining questions has been applied. Research data was evaluated with appropriate statistical methods. Average age value of young participants in the study was 17.36±0.2 years and all of them were male. It was determined that 73.4% of the youth had sexual intercourse and 61.1% did not receive education about healthy sexual life. It was seen that 43.5% of those think cigarettes are not harmful for health, 39.2% alcohol and 37.1% drugs/volatile substances. Furthermore it was determined that 14.1% of the youth participating in the study tried alcohol, 13.7% drugs/volatile subtances, 62% drive motor vehicles, 28.6% disregard traffic rules and 42.8% do not wear safety belts. It is remarkable that the sexual behaviour, driving entertaining/motor vehicles and subtance (cigarette, alcohol, drugs/volatile substances) use rate of the majority of young people in high schools is really high. In this regard the importance of ensuring cooperation with school administrators in order to identify risky behaviours of the young, plan appropriate interventions and taking necessary measures is obvious.