roles of family functioning and cognitive failure in predicting high-risk behaviors among students with a history of learning disability

Background: students with learning disabilities may face challenges associated with their condition, which could contribute to engaging in risky behaviors. objectives: this study aimed to investigate the effects of family functioning and cognitive failure in predicting high-risk behaviors among students with a history of learning disabilities. methods: the statistical population of this descriptive-correlational study included all high school students with a history of learning disabilities in ahvaz, iran, in 2023. convenience sampling with informed consent was employed to select 158 high school students with a history of learning disabilities as the research sample. data were collected using the high-risk behavior scale, family functioning questionnaire, and cognitive failure questionnaire. pearson’s correlation coefficient and stepwise regression were used for data analysis. results: the results indicated a significant negative relationship between family functioning and high-risk behaviors (r = -0.41, p < 0.001). conversely, there was a significant positive relationship between cognitive failure and high-risk behaviors (r = 0.49, p < 0.001). family functioning and cognitive failure together predicted 29.4% of the variance in students' high-risk behaviors. conclusions: these findings suggest that family functioning and cognitive abilities are important factors to consider in understanding high-risk behaviors. further research using longitudinal or experimental designs is needed to explore the causal relationships between these variables.