Examining high risk behaviors among students of Zahedan universities

Iranian communities have experienced substantial changes in recent years. Free time and pleasure-seeking have been transformed, increasing the risk of unhealthy and dangerous behaviors, leading to increases in well-known diseases. This study was performed to examine high-risk behaviors among students of Zahedan Universities. The current study adopted a descriptive survey method. Given the focus on Zahedan universities, the present sample was drawn from the male and female students of the universities of Sistan and Baluchestan, Islamic Azad University, Quran sciences, and Payamm-e-Noor [distance learning]. Of those, 361 subjects were selected for participation using stratified random sampling. Data collection consisted of a questionnaire investigating risk behaviors. The content validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by university researchers and lecturers. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient was alpha = 0.93, indicating strong reliability. Two methods, descriptive statistics and inferential [deductive] statistics, were used to describe and analyze the data. The indices were based on percentage estimations using single-variable and multi-variable chi-square tests. The present research investigates the epidemic of disorderly behaviors including deliberate violence, unintentional loses and damage, inappropriate diet, lack of physical activities, lack of knowledge concerning dangerous diseases, suicidal thoughts, absence from the dormitory, stealing, smoking [cigarettes or hookah], and alcohol or drug abuse. The research indicates that 45.2% of students sometimes, mostly, or always have an improper diet, 56.5% have no physical activity, 62.3% have experienced unelaborating damages and losses, 59.3% of them are not aware of dangerous diseases and the symptoms of infection, and 46.9% have suicidal thoughts. In addition, 15.8% of subjects have been absent without permission from the dormitory or their home, 12.2% have behaved violently on purpose, 15.3% often smoke [cigarette or hookah], 6.9% have committed theft, and 6.4% of the participants are alcohol or drug abusers. These results indicate that the epidemic of risk behavior varies in subjects according to factors including gender, the university where one studies, parents' occupation and their income, and the number of family members

[On the relationship between mental health, spiritual intelligence and dysfunctional attitudes in students of Systan and Baluchestan University, Southeast of Iran]

The main objective of this research was to investigate the relationship between dysfunctional attitude, spiritual intelligence and their effect on mental health in students of Systan and Baluchestan University in 2009-2010. Our sample was included of 370 students [108 males and 255 females] which were assessed with the Spiritual Intelligence Self-Report Inventory-24 [SISRI-24], Dysfunctional Attitudes Scale [DAS] and General Health Questionnaire [GHQ]. The data have been analyzed by Pearson correlation coefficient and regression analysis. There are significant positive correlations between SISRI-24 scores and GHQ scores [P<0.01] and significant negative correlations between DAS scores and GHQ scores and between DAS scores and SISRI-24 scores [P<0.01]. Based on the regression analysis, both spiritual intelligence and dysfunctional attitudes scores could predict students' mental health. Students' spiritual intelligence dysfunctional attitudes correlate with their mental health