Prediction of Risky Behaviors Based on Behavioral Brain Systems and Emotional Neglect With the Mediating Role of Cognitive Emotion Regulation Strategies Among Young Adults in Tehran
Keywords:
Risky behaviors , emotion regulation strategies, emotional neglect, behavioral activation and inhibition systems, young adultsAbstract
Purpose: The present study aimed to predict risky behaviors based on behavioral brain systems and emotional neglect, with the mediating role of cognitive emotion regulation strategies among young adults in Tehran.
Methods and Materials: It employed a descriptive–correlational design using structural equation modeling. The statistical population comprised all students enrolled at universities in Tehran during the 2022–2023 academic year. The study sample consisted of 400 university students who were selected through multistage cluster sampling and completed the Snow et al. Youth Risky Behaviors Questionnaire (2019), the Childhood Trauma Questionnaire–Short Form developed by Bernstein et al. (1995), the Cognitive Emotion Regulation Questionnaire–Short Form by Garnefski et al. (2002), and the Behavioral Brain Systems Questionnaire by Carver and White (1994). The collected data were analyzed using SPSS version 27 and AMOS version 24.
Findings: The results indicated that the direct paths from the behavioral inhibition system and the behavioral activation system to risky behaviors were not statistically significant. In contrast, adaptive emotion regulation strategies had a significant negative relationship with risky behaviors (β = −0.232, p ≤ .001), maladaptive emotion regulation strategies had a significant positive relationship with risky behaviors (β = 0.358, p ≤ .001), and emotional neglect was significantly associated with risky behaviors (β = 0.302, p ≤ .001). Overall, 32% of the variance in risky behaviors was explained by behavioral brain systems, emotional neglect, and adaptive and maladaptive emotion regulation strategies. The standardized indirect path coefficients from the behavioral inhibition system to risky behaviors, from emotional neglect to risky behaviors, and from the behavioral activation system to risky behaviors through maladaptive strategies were statistically significant. Additionally, the standardized indirect path coefficient from the behavioral activation system to risky behaviors through adaptive strategies was significant.
Conclusion: Based on these findings, it is recommended that university counseling centers, in addition to screening for risky behaviors among students, prioritize training in emotion regulation strategies.
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