Factors associated with health behaviors in middle childhood.

Health behaviors of school-aged children are the precursors of adolescents' health-risk behaviors. The study reported here is the first wave of a cohort-sequential longitudinal study of health-risk behaviors in youth. Using a youth resilience framework, researchers collected data from 1,934 youth in Grades 4-6. Statistically significant differences in health behaviors were found for gender, ethnicity, and grade level, which accounted for only 2% of the variance. Risk and protective factors accounted for an additional 18% of variance in health behaviors. With the federal mandate for schools to establish wellness policies, school nurses are ideally situated to influence school environments to support children's healthy behaviors.