Social support, self-esteem, and positive health practices of early adolescents.

The purpose of this study was to examine the relations of social support and self-esteem to positive health practices in early adolescents. A sample of 148 early adolescents (70 boys and 78 girls), aged 12 to 14 years, attending an urban middle school, responded to The Revised Personal Lifestyle Questionnaire, the Personal Resource Questionnaire 85-Part II, and the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale in classrooms. A correlation of .59 (p<.05) was found between scores on social support and scores for positive health practices, and a correlation of .44 (p<.05) between scores on the Rosenberg Self-esteem Scale and scores for positive health practices.