Adolescents' perceptions of health concerns: an exploratory study among rural midwestern youth.

This exploratory investigation examined health concerns of adolescents and their perceptions of their peers' health concerns. Data were collected from a convenient sample of 419 high school students in rural southern Illinois in May 1990, using the Adolescent Health Concerns Inventory (AHCI). The AHCI contains 150 health-related items, grouped into 12 topical subscales. Analysis of the 150 items found statistically significant differences for all but 2 items: use of alcohol and acne. Analysis of the 12 subscales found that students believed other teenagers were concerned more about issues related to substance use and abuse, human sexuality, and personal health than about the issues they reported as concerns for themselves or their best friends. These findings indicate what health issues students are personally concerned about. They also suggest that students believe their personal health concerns differ from the health concerns of their best friends and other teenagers.