Universal Protective Factors among Adolescent in School

Manirul I. Khan, Mahidol University
Khurshid K. Talukder, Institute of Child and Mother Health

Adolescent risk behaviours were prevented when certain protective factors were present in their lives. These protective factors are connection to parents, connection to school, religion (ideology) and psychological autonomy. However risk behaviour like smoking, alcohol, violence, pre-marital sexual activity and drug abuse in adolescent has increased in Bangladesh. Recently the concept of protective factors has been emphasis of many studies in this field. In 2001, the Institute of Child and Mother Health (ICMH), and WHO has carried out protective factors study in the four domains of protection like connection, regulation, psychological autonomy and religion in a number of social settings such as family, peer, school/college and community. Qualitative and quantitative studies showed that adolescent characteristic in individual, school, family and community levels were protective against risk behaviours. Parental connection, regulation and like school were protective factor against risk behaviors of adolescent for smoking, alcohol consumption, depression and attempted suicide.