Comparison of Behavioral Concerns Prioritiesamong Iranian Adolescent Boys, Parents andTeachers: Reporting the Results of aModifed Delphi

Background: Adolescence is a time of risks and opportunities. This study aimed to investigate and prioritize the behavioral concerns of male adolescents. Methods: A modifed Delphi study (2018-2019) was conducted in two stages. In the frst stage, adolescents’ behavioral concerns were extracted based on seven qualitative interviews and a focus group. Then, a questionnaire was designed using the obtained data; also, two-round consensusbuilding approach (rating and ranking) through surveys were conducted among 90students, teachers and parents covered by the Health Departments of Tehran University of Medical Sciences, who had been selected using a stratifed cluster random sampling method. Qualitative content analysis was used in the frst stage and descriptive statistics in the second stage to analyze the data. Results: In the frst stage, eight categories emerged, including relational challenges with parents and other adults; poor interaction with peers; lack of adaptation to conditions; emotional dysregulation; self-esteem and sense of purposefulness issues; materialistic tendencies; cyberspace issues; and nonadherence to religious beliefs. Then 63 behavioral concerns were identifed. In each round (rating/ ranking), 29/27, 28/29, and 30/30, responses were received for students, parents and teachers, respectively. According to the specifed scores given to different issues, ten top problems according to the viewpoint of different groups were extracted. Conclusion: “lack of planning and prioritization skill”, “insufcient skill for controlling crisis”, and “lack of resilience” are the most important priority for male adolescents, teachers and parents, respectively. These fndings can be used for planning programs based on the adolescents’ behavioral concerns. Keywords: Adolescent, Behavioral concerns, Delphi, Iran, Parent, Prioritization