R Torres1, F Fernández. 1. Facultad de Psicología, Campus Universitario, Santiago de Compostela, Spain.
Abstract
PURPOSE: To study the relationship between personality attributes and health behaviors and practices during adolescence. DESIGN: We have studied a total of 100 subjects aged 12-13 and 16-17 years of both sexes. To examine self-esteem and the value of health in a series of habitual practices of health, a stepwise multiple regression analysis was undertaken. The instruments used were the Gordon Personal Profile (GPP) (1978) to evaluate self-esteem, the Costa et al.'s (1989) Value of Health Scale to estimate the value of health and, the Rivas Torres (1991) Health Behavior Questionnaire to measure health behavior. RESULTS: Self-esteem explains 39% of the mental health behavior and 5% of the social health behaviors. Meanwhile, the value of health, in the case of security behaviors, explains 13%, and in relation to personal health behaviors, 9%. CONCLUSIONS: The importance assigned to certain personality attributes in relation to adolescent health behavior shows the need for additional investigations that incorporate other variables and subject groups with different ages.
PURPOSE: To study the relationship between personality attributes and health behaviors and practices during adolescence. DESIGN: We have studied a total of 100 subjects aged 12-13 and 16-17 years of both sexes. To examine self-esteem and the value of health in a series of habitual practices of health, a stepwise multiple regression analysis was undertaken. The instruments used were the Gordon Personal Profile (GPP) (1978) to evaluate self-esteem, the Costa et al.'s (1989) Value of Health Scale to estimate the value of health and, the Rivas Torres (1991) Health Behavior Questionnaire to measure health behavior. RESULTS: Self-esteem explains 39% of the mental health behavior and 5% of the social health behaviors. Meanwhile, the value of health, in the case of security behaviors, explains 13%, and in relation to personal health behaviors, 9%. CONCLUSIONS: The importance assigned to certain personality attributes in relation to adolescent health behavior shows the need for additional investigations that incorporate other variables and subject groups with different ages.
Authors: Pamela J Surkan; Lourdes Schnaas; Rosalind J Wright; Martha M Téllez-Rojo; Héctor Lamadrid-Figueroa; Howard Hu; Mauricio Hernández-Avila; David C Bellinger; Joel Schwartz; Estela Perroni; Robert O Wright Journal: Neurotoxicology Date: 2007-12-15 Impact factor: 4.294