AUTHOR=Maepa Mokoena Patronella , Ntshalintshali Thobile 

TITLE=Family Structure and History of Childhood Trauma: Associations With Risk-Taking Behavior Among Adolescents in Swaziland

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Public Health

VOLUME=8

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/public-health/articles/10.3389/fpubh.2020.563325

DOI=10.3389/fpubh.2020.563325

ISSN=2296-2565

ABSTRACT=<p><bold>Introduction:</bold> Risk-taking and self-harm behavior among adolescent are a global challenge. This study explored family structure and history of childhood trauma and their association with risk-taking and self-harm behaviors among adolescents in Swaziland.</p><p><bold>Methods:</bold> Using a cross-sectional design, a sample of 470 male and female adolescents were sampled through simple random sampling from selected high schools in Swaziland. They completed a questionnaire assessing family structure, history of childhood trauma, and risk-taking and self-harm behaviors. Analysis of variance and <italic>t</italic>-test were used to analyze the results.</p><p><bold>Results:</bold> The findings revealed that family structure significantly influence risk-taking and self-harm behavior among adolescents [<italic>F</italic><sub>(2, 247)</sub> = 5.481; <italic>P</italic> &lt; 0.004] those from child-headed and single-parent households reported higher risk-taking and self-harm behaviors. The results also revealed adolescents history of childhood trauma to be more risk-takers than those without history of childhood trauma <italic>t</italic><sub>(468)</sub> = 3.409, <italic>p</italic> &lt; 0.001.</p><p><bold>Discussion:</bold> Study results suggest that family structure and history of childhood trauma have significant association with adolescents' risk-taking and self-harm behaviors.</p>