Associations between family functioning and adolescent health behaviors

Background: The obesity epidemic has been a concern across the globe, affecting about 20% of adolescents in the U.S. Physical activity and nutrition-related behaviors that develop during adolescence carry through into adulthood. Adolescents’ perceptions of how their family functions may be associated with health behaviors, including physical activity and diet. Objective: To determine whether there is an association between perceived family functioning and adolescent health behaviors among a national sample of adolescents aged 11 to 16 who participated in the 2009-2010 Health Behaviors of School-Aged Children survey. Methods: Participants reported on demographics and measures of family function, which included satisfaction with family relationships (very satisfied, satisfied, not satisfied) and mother/father knowledge of daily life (knowledge of friends, money spending; and time spent during free time, at night, and after school). In addition, adolescents reported on levels of physical activity and frequency of fruit and vegetable consumption. A series of analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) models were constructed to examine the associations between the measures of family function and health behaviors, controlling for socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity, and age. Separate models were conducted for males and females. Results: Participants (n=12,624) were racially diverse (52% white, 20% African American, 27% other) and 26% identified as Hispanic/Latino. Sixty-five percent of participants reported being satisfied with family relationships, 34% reported that their mothers were very knowledgeable of their daily life, while 21% reported that their fathers were very knowledgeable. Results of the ANCOVAs determined that all three family function measures were associated with physical activity, fruit and vegetable consumption. Individuals who reported greater satisfaction with their family relationships and whose mother and/or father were more knowledgeable about their lives were more physically active and consumed more fruits and vegetables (p\u3c0.05). Conclusion: Study results suggest that family functioning may be a significant factor in determining adolescent healthful behavior. Family function may be helpful when understanding the process of adolescent development and internalization of health behaviors. Further research may include family-centered interventions to increase positive family function

Optimizing Adolescent Health Behavior Programs

This article summarizes the key messages and recommendations from the recent National Academies report, Promoting Positive Adolescent Health Behaviors and Outcomes: Thriving in the 21st Century. The first section outlines important definitions and frameworks that guided the committee’s process. Next, the article describes the results of the committee’s systematic review, which aimed to identify the core components of programs and interventions that are effective across a variety of adolescent health behaviors and outcomes. The final section of this article presents a subset of the committee’s recommendations and promising approaches that can be useful to the diverse readership of this journal

Examining the Relationship between Family Routines during Adolescence and Young Adult Health Behaviors

Research has found significant associations between family routines, like the frequency of family meals, and later adolescent health behaviors. The current study adds to this literature by (a) replicating previous findings utilizing a larger national dataset of youth and (b) incorporating much longer-term outcomes (10 and 14 years). Data comes from the NLSY97. A total of 5,419 youth were surveyed at 12-14 years of age, and then annually for 14 years (84% retention at 14 years). Results indicate that more family routines during adolescence are associated with better general health during young adulthood (p’s \u3c 0.001). Routines are also positively associated with healthy diet and behaviors in young adulthood (p’s \u3c 0.001). This study highlights the lasting impact of family interactions across development. Subsequent analyses will parse out the specific predictive contribution of family meals shared, as well as the impact of family routines on substance use

Structure and features of Competitiveness Index

Competitiveness is an important factor among social variables influencing youth’s health related behaviors, however the relationship between competitiveness and health behaviors is a less investigated field of research. In addition, cultural background may lead to differences in dimensions and structure of competitiveness, but only few researchers have examined this relationship thus far. Our data contained three subsamples. The first wave of data were collected in 2005, in the Southern Plain Region of Hungary, Békés and Csongrád counties. 548 questionnaires were analyzed (age range: 14-21 years; M= 16.3 years; S.D. 1.3 years; response rate: 91.3%; 42% girls). The second one was collected in 2009, in the same region, from Szeged. 501 questionnaires were analyzed (age range: 19-27 years; M=21.3 years; S.D. 1.6 years; response rate: 98,2%; 57.5% girls). Finally, the third subsample was collected in 2010 from Novi Sad, Subotica and B. Topola. 200 questionnaires were analyzed (age range: 19-34 years; M=22.67 years; S.D. 2.0 years, response rate: 95,2%; 43.5% girls). Self-administered questionnaires were used to collect data. Questionnaires included items on sociodemographics, competitiveness and health behaviors. Factor analysis provided three factor solution with good reliability values, but different factor loadings on the subsamples. „Enjoyment of competition” factor was nearly the same in all subsamples, but the other factors were varied. Among Hungarian youth „Avoidance of social conflict” and „Fear of competition” were separate factors, while among students from Serbia making difference between arguements and competition was a more important issue. Avoidance of arguements was correlated with negative emotion (dread, unpleasant) while avoidance of competition was not. We also found differences in the relationships between competitiveness factors and health behaviors. Our study pointed out that health promotion programs should take cultural background into account

Family Efficacy within Ethnically Diverse Families: A Qualitative Study

Peer Reviewedhttps://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/136302/1/famp12149.pd

Religion's Role in Promoting Health and Reducing Risk Among American Youth

Although past research has long documented religion's salutary impact on adult health-related behaviors and outcomes, relatively little research has examined the relationship between religion and adolescent health. This study uses large, nationally representative samples of high school seniors to examine the relationship between religion and behavioral predictors of adolescent morbidity and mortality. Relative to their peers, religious youth are less likely to engage in behaviors that compromise their health (e.g., carrying weapons, getting into fights, drinking and driving) and are more likely to behave in ways that enhance their health (e.g., proper nutrition, exercise, and rest). Multivariate analyses suggest that these relationships persist even after controlling for demographic factors, and trend analyses reveal that they have existed over time. Particularly important is the finding that religious seniors have been relatively unaffected by past and recent increases in marijuana use.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/66995/2/10.1177_109019819802500604.pd

Genetic Risks, Adolescent Health and Schooling Attainment

We provide new evidence on the effect of adolescent health behaviors/outcomes (obesity, depression, smoking, and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)) on schooling attainment using the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health. We take two different approaches to deal with omitted variable bias and reverse causality. Our first approach attends to the issue of reverse causality by using health polygenic scores (PGSs) as proxies for actual adolescent health. Second, we estimate the effect of adolescent health using sibling fixed-effects models that control for unmeasured genetic and family factors shared by siblings. We use the PGSs as additional controls in the sibling fixed-effects models to reduce concerns about residual confounding from sibling-specific genetic differences. We find consistent evidence across both approaches that being genetically predisposed to smoking and smoking regularly in adolescence reduces schooling attainment. We find mixed evidence for ADHD. Our estimates suggest that having a high genetic risk for ADHD reduces grades of schooling, but we do not find any statistically significant negative effects of ADHD on grades of schooling. Finally, results from both approaches show no consistent evidence for a detrimental effect of obesity or depression on schooling attainment

Effectiveness of CenteringPregnancy on Breast-Feeding Initiation Among African Americans: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

While breastfeeding initiation rates for African American mothers are low, an innovative model of group prenatal care, CenteringPregnancy, holds promise to increase breastfeeding rates. The aim of this systematic review and meta-analysis was to examine the effects of CenteringPregnancy versus individual prenatal care on breastfeeding initiation among African American mothers. Using a systematic approach and PRISMA guidelines, 4 electronic databases were used to search the literature. English-language studies, comparing CenteringPregnancy and individual prenatal care, including African American participants, and specifying breastfeeding initiation as an outcome were screened for inclusion. Study strength and quality were assessed and 7 studies were systematically reviewed and meta-analyzed. Participation in CenteringPregnancy increased the probability of breastfeeding initiation by 53% (95% confidence interval = 29%-81%) (n = 8047). A subgroup analysis of breastfeeding initiationamong only African American participants was performed on 4 studies where data were available. Participation in CenteringPregnancy increased the probability of breastfeeding initiation by 71% (95% confidence interval = 27%-131%) (n = 1458) for African American participants. CenteringPregnancy is an effective intervention to increase breastfeeding initiation for participants, especially for African Americans. To close the racial gap in breastfeeding initiation, high-quality research providing specific outcomes for African American participants in CenteringPregnancy are needed

Exploration of gender norms and socialization among early adolescents : the use of qualitative methods for the global early adolescent study

Purpose: The Global Early Adolescent Study (GEAS) was launched in 2014 with the primary goal of understanding the factors in early adolescence that predispose young people to subsequent sexual risks, and conversely, those that promote healthy sexuality across different cultural contexts. The present article describes the methodology that was used for the first phase of GEAS, which consisted of conducting qualitative research to understand the gendered transitions into adolescence and the role that gender norms play within the key relationships of adolescents. Researchers from each of the sites that had completed data collection were also elicited for their feedback on the key strengths, challenges, and lessons learned from conducting research among 11- to 14-year-old adolescents. The purpose of this article is to present the description of each of the methods that were used in GEAS, as well as the researchers' perspectives of using the methods among early adolescents in their sites. Methods: The GEAS is being implemented through a collaboration of university and nongovernmental institutions from 15 cities: Assiut (Egypt) Baltimore (U.S.), Blantyre (Malawi), Cape Town (South Africa), Cochabomba (Bolivia), Cuenca (Ecuador), Edinburgh (Scotland), Ghent (Belgium), Hanoi (Vietnam), Ile-Ife (Nigeria), Kinshasa (DRC), Nairobi (Kenya), New Delhi (India), Ouaga-dougou (Burkina Faso), and Shanghai (China). Approximately 30 in-depth interviews among adolescents and 30 in-depth interviews with their parent/guardian were conducted at each site, with adults and adolescents interviewed separately. To build trust and increase engagement among the adolescent participants, we used two different visual research methods: (1) timeline exercise which was small group based and (2) the Venn diagram exercise which was conducted individually and used at the start of the in-depth interview. Results: The visual aspects of both the timeline and the Venn diagrams not only helped to produce data for the purposes of the study, but also were a successful way of engaging the adolescent participants across sites. While the narrative interviews produced extremely rich data, researchers did notice that there were a few challenges among the younger adolescents. Challenges were related to the length of the interview, comprehension of questions, as some of the questions were either too abstract or asked adolescents about an experience they had not yet had and therefore could not address or articulate. Conclusions: Conducting the first phase of GEAS revealed important insights for research with participants who are in this developmental phase of early adolescence. Methods that involve greater engagement and those that are visual were shown to work well irrespective of the cultural setting