Background: Many children and adolescents are physically inactive and become even less active as they age. USA high school students' rates of attendance in physical education (PE) classes sharply decline by grade with 73% of ninth graders attending PE, while only 31% of seniors attend. Non-Caucasian youth report the lowest levels of physical…

Objective: To examine acceptability, attrition, adherence, and preliminary efficacy of mobile phone short message service (SMS; text messaging) for monitoring healthful behaviors in children. Design: All randomized children received a brief psychoeducational intervention. They then either monitored target behaviors via SMS with feedback or via…

This study examines what school experiences influence dental hygiene and nutrition behaviors of Canadian adolescents from the 1998 Cross-national Survey on Health Behaviors in School-aged Children (HBSC). Multilevel analyses highlight the rare use of dental floss among adolescents. Females are more likely to brush and floss teeth than males.…

HIV-negative, inner-city adolescents with HIV-infected parents are considered to be at high risk for acquiring HIV themselves. Using a modified theory of health behavior, this study examined the effects of maternal HIV infection and psychosocial variables on the onset of sexual and drug risk behavior in 144 HIV-negative adolescents with and…

The primary purpose of this exploratory study was to determine the percentage of time in which school pupils coached by teachers were engaged in moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA) during extra-curricular sport practices. Three secondary purposes of the study were to determine (a) the percentage of time allocated by teachers for pupils…

Objective: To assess the value of maternal and self-ratings of adolescent depression by investigating the extent to which these reports predicted a range of mental health and functional outcomes 4 years later. The potential influence of mother's own depressed mood on her ratings of adolescent depression and suicidal ideation on adolescent outcome…

This article reports the results of a survey of 168 New Zealand early childhood workers and describes their health status, behaviours and concerns. The respondents included 73 childcare teachers, 58 kindergarten teachers and 37 home-based educators. Although 92 per cent of respondents reported that they had good or excellent health, statistically…

The purpose of this study was to assess Greek primary (1st to 6th grade) school children's dietary habits and the factors influencing them. Our results show that children know the value of different foods. The socio-economic status of father has no effect on the attitude of children towards choosing their diet, however, mothers' educational status…

Objective: To research the correlation between physical and sexual abuse by family members and AIDS-related knowledge, attitudes, self-efficacy and behavior among urban and rural adolescents in Zambia. Sample: The sample comprises 3,360 adolescents, aged 10-19, from urban and rural Zambia; 2,160 of them attended school, while 1,200 of them did…

Cigarette smoking almost always begins in the adolescent years and smoking at early ages increases the risk of becoming ill or dying from causes attributable to smoking. This report uses data from the 1992 National Health Interview Survey of Youth Risk Behavior and presents prevalence estimates for selected unhealthy behaviors among adolescents in…

This book on the choices faced by adolescents regarding health behavior draws from recent publications of the Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development as well as from other recent reports. The book contains eight chapters. Chapter One discusses the risks that adolescents face today, including lack of attention from adults, poverty, suicide, drug…

This K-6 interdisciplinary nutrition curriculum focuses on vegetables and fruits. The lessons use core subjects to promote consumption of fresh, frozen, and canned vegetables and fruits; vegetable and fruit juices; and dried fruits. The lessons also investigate the Food Guide Pyramid. Each lesson plan has a section entitled Extensions. The…

Two studies investigated the utility of a Cognitive-Behavior Change model in predicting adolescents' health behavior changes. The intervention specifically aimed at increasing students' knowledge of heart healthy habits, strengthening their beliefs, attitudes, and confidence regarding their ability to improve their health habits, and providing…

This bibliography includes references from major articles, Index Medicus (1972- 1977), and Psychological Abstracts (1967-1977). The material is arranged under four major headings--health behavior, health education, health services utilization, and compliance with health regimes. It will be of interest to persons working in medical settings and…

The author describes the nature of the rural poor in southern Appalachia, with emphasis on the elderly and their attitudes toward health practices and medical care and their resistance to change. He concludes that problems of health care delivery have no easy solution. (MF)