Teaching children habits is a routine part of many early childhood program curricula, with teachers never really stopping to think about what or how teaching is affecting their students. Habits are formed with consistent practice. Habits can be taught to children easily when teachers have some creativity to the actions. In this article, the author…

The national Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) monitors priority health risk behaviors that contribute to the leading causes of death, disability, and social problems among youth and adults in the United States. The national YRBS is conducted every two years during the spring semester and provides data representative of 9th through 12th grade…

Identifying correlates of health behavior is an important step both for understanding and modifying health behavior. This study examined five personality factors (Neuroticism, Extraversion, Openness to Experience, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness) and three dimensions of health locus of control (Internal, Powerful Others, Chance) as correlates of…

This study was undertaken to examine the constellation of attitudes and beliefs felt to be related to health behavior. Two types of health messages were delivered to a group of teenage camp counselors on the disease diabetes. Their attitudes toward the disease in terms of their perception of vulnerability to it, their perception of its severity,…

The underlying philosophical and practical problems encountered when designing drug education/prevention programs are reviewed. The Health Belief Model is described and its most relevant components are outlined. The drug education material and teaching methodology which complement the model are reviewed as well. (Author)

Factors associated with quitting smoking were analyzed. Quitters were those who had stopped for at least one year. Quit rates were higher for males, those in higher age groups of both sexes, those of higher educational and occupational levels, Jews, and whites. (Author.VM)

Examined the unique needs and developmental stage of adolescent females in the determination of health-protective behaviors and needs. Findings indicated a majority exhibited inadequate knowledge and use of basic health care practices. The health-teaching needs identified were: stress control; rape/suicide prevention; safety; and prevention/care…

For health instruction to be of benefit, personal practices must enhance health behavior. Self-management skills, stimilus control procedures, and reinforcement control procedures to make behavioral changes consistent with health-related decisions are described. (MT)

The purpose of this article is to facilitate a clearer understanding of both the concept of self-efficacy and its relevance for health education research and practice. Self-efficacy is first defined and distinguished from other related concepts. Next, studies of the self-efficacy concept as it relates to health practices are examined. (Author/CT)

A healthy weight means you are not too fat or too thin. Your doctor may have said that you should not gain more weight or that you need to lose a few pounds. If you have diabetes and are overweight, you are not alone. The steps you take to manage your weight will help you feel better and may improve your blood sugar or glucose (GLOO-kos) levels.…

The LINKAGES Project is intended to improve breastfeeding and related complementary feeding and maternal dietary practices. The project, in consultation with technical experts and program managers, identified a set of recommended feeding and dietary practices intended to break the cycle of poor health and nutrition that passes from generation to…

This review of the developmental readiness of normal, full-term infants to progress from exclusive breastfeeding to the introduction of complementary foods is the result of the international debate regarding the best age to introduce complementary foods into the diet of the breastfed human infant. After a list of definitions, four papers focus on:…

What can be done to support fitness and physical activity? Schools can guide students in developing life-long habits of participating in physical activities. According to the National Association for Sports and Physical Education, the concepts of physical fitness activities and physical education are used synonymously, however, they are not the…

Examined relationship between repression-sensitization (R-S) and visits to prison infirmary for males during a one-year period. Main effect for R-S dimension was significant for total number of visits, number of medically justified visits, and number of medically unjustified visits. Sensitizers had significantly more visits than repressors.…

Explored the usefulness and validity of the transtheoretical model, examining relationships between stages and processes of change, self-efficacy, and decisional balance among Malay students attending English universities. Data were collected by a validated transtheoretical model questionnaire regarding students' exercise behavior. Results showed…