The late teens is an important transitional period as adolescents move into new social worlds which support or challenge their smoking. This paper draws on research with 99 Scottish 16- to 19-year olds which explored their understanding of their smoking and attitudes towards quitting and cessation support. The study involved qualitative interviews…

This paper sets out to examine the impacts of schooling and health knowledge on the level of obesity in Taiwan. The results obtained from a sample of Taiwanese females support the hypothesis of Grossman that schooling has a direct positive effect on health by reducing the likelihood of a person being obese. The awareness of obesity-disease…

Over the past forty years various changes in the U.S. "built environment" have promoted sedentary lifestyles and less healthful diets. James Sallis and Karen Glanz investigate whether these changes have had a direct effect on childhood obesity and whether improvements to encourage more physical activity and more healthful diets are likely to lower…

Purpose: The purpose of the study is to undertake a formative evaluation of a young person's Smokebuster club and to examine how young people's experience of being a club member can be used to inform the club's future development. Design/methodology/approach: After seeking and being granted Local Research Ethics Committee approval to undertake the…

The aims of this study were to: (a) compare physical activity across two seasons and, within those seasons, across school and vacation time, and (b) compare the proportion of children meeting the activity thresholds recommended by Tudor-Locke et al. (2004) at each time point. Thirty-six boys, between the ages of 8 and 10 years (M age = 8.8 years,…

To date, limited attention is paid to how partners influence the condom negotiation process. This study examined whether partner ethnicity and age were associated with condom negotiations (i.e., verbal-direct, verbal-indirect, nonverbal-direct, nonverbal-indirect) in heterosexual Chinese and Filipina American college women. Results from 181 women…

A study of sexual behavior in migrant men was conducted in construction sites, markets, and factories in Shanghai, the largest city in China. An anonymous, self-administered questionnaire was completed by the migrants. Among 986 sexually active men, 14% had had more than one sexual partner in their lifetime, 31% premarital sex, 3.3% oral sex, and…

Invasive disease secondary to Neisseria meningitidis is a rare but devastating illness among university students. The Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices recommends educating college freshmen about meningococcal disease and vaccinating all college freshmen who live in residence halls. We conducted this survey to gain a better…

The incidence of breast cancer is rising rapidly among the fast-growing demographic group of Asian American and Pacific Islanders (AAPIs). In this study, the authors assessed the awareness of breast self-exam (BSE) and factors predicting practice of BSE among Chinese immigrant women living in San Francisco. Three hundred and ninety-seven women…

School connectedness includes liking school and positive relations with teachers and peers. School connectedness is associated with a variety of positive health outcomes. The goal of this study was to identify characteristics of students, schools, and school neighborhoods that are related to school connectedness. In the Health Behavior in…

Behaviors developed in adolescence influence health later in life. The purpose of this study was to investigate the frequency of health care provider's discussion of health behaviors with overweight and non-overweight adolescents and identify demographic and health behaviors related to exercise, hours of television viewing, and weight issues…

In this article, the authors provide some practical actions, which physical education teachers can initiate to increase the activity levels of children by engaging them in fun physical activities outside of physical education class, that would help meet the guidelines developed by the National Association for Sport and Physical Education (NASPE).…

Body image and sexuality, both physically-oriented domains of the self, are likely linked, but few studies have examined their associations. In the present investigation, we studied emerging adult undergraduates (ages 17-19), focusing specifically on risky sexual behaviors and attitudes. Participants (N=434) completed a survey on body image,…

Health-related habits develop early in life. The period during junior high school is especially important for developing these habits. Because adolescent behaviors may be better predictors of adult disease than adult health behaviors, interventions with children and adolescents are important. Several theories and models for explaining how people…

Education can be regarded as an intervention, a treatment, and a potential positive influence on the health of an accessible group of children and youth ages 3-18. Education can have a positive effect upon health by modifying prominent behaviors established during youth that result in preventable morbidity and mortality during both youth and…