University students’ risky behaviors and the progression rate

Mirjana Radetić-Paić

Summary:  The aim of this research is to determine the correlation between university students’ risky behaviors and their progression rate. The sample of examinees was comprised of 119 students belonging to the Faculty of Educational Sciences at Juraj Dobrila University of Pula, Croatia. The purpose of this research is linked to planning adequate activities for university students in their first years of study. The American questionnaire National College Health Risk Behavior Survey, created by Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, was implemented for this study. Some of those risky behaviors represent a predictive group of fragments for which the criterion is students’ progression rate. The basic statistical values of the observed items have been calculated through data processing, while the regression analysis has been used as the multivariate method of data processing for which the prognostic value of the predictive variables set was determined. The results indicate that there is a connection between a lower progression rate into the next academic year and students’ use of alcohol and marijuana. The applicative value of the obtained results is manifested through the identification of guidelines for individual and group counseling as well as the organization of thematically aimed working groups and tribunes serving as support for overcoming various difficulties while attending a university.