FAMILY FUNCTIONING, PERCEPTION OF RISKY BEHAVIOR AND INTERNET ADDICTION IN ITALIAN ADOLESCENTS

Literature has demonstrated the adaptive influence of family functioning toward manifestation of problembehaviors in adolescence. These dimensions act on both internalizing and externalizing symptoms.During adolescence, crucial phase in the developmental process, family must be able to combine the needof independence with the creation of a solid family climate capable of containing adolescent uncertainties.The research goal is to investigate the influence of family functioning on the perception of riskybehaviors and the possible presence of a psychopathological use of the Internet in a group of Sicilianadolescents.The research involved 100 high school students, aged between 15 and 18 (M = 16.14; S.D = 0.49), whocompleted following instruments: the Family Assessment Device to measure family functioning, theCognitive Appraisal of Risky Events to investigate the perception of risky behaviors, and the InternetAddiction Test to evaluate the possible presence of the psychopathological Internet use.Data show that the behavioral control, perceived within the family context, determines a more realisticperception of risk behaviors; furthermore, a greater problem-solving capacity and family communicationlead to reduce the internet use in adolescents participating in the research.Family rapresents the favored context of learning beliefs and patterns, that affect the broader regulatorysocial environment, for this reason, it is considered the privileged context on which to intervene to reducethe adolescents’ behavior problems. Some aspects of family functioning, such as poor supervision,discipline and inconsistent communication, seem to influence the adoption of risky behaviors amongSicilian adolescents.