A descriptive study of youth risk behavior in urban and rural secondary school students in El Salvador

Andrew E Springer,Bj Selwyn,Steven H Kelder

doi:10.1186/1472-698x-6-3

Abstract

BackgroundAdolescence is an important stage of life for establishing healthy behaviors, attitudes, and lifestyles that contribute to current and future health. Health risk behavior is one indicator of health of young people that may serve both as a measure of health over time as well as a target for health policies and programs. This study examined the prevalence and distribution of youth health risk behaviors from five risk behavior domains–aggression, victimization, depression and suicidal ideation, substance use, and sexual behaviors–among public secondary school students in central El Salvador.MethodsWe employed a multi-stage sampling design in which school districts, schools, and classrooms were randomly selected. Data were collected using a self-administered questionnaire based on the United States Center for Disease Control and Prevention's Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Sixteen schools and 982 students aged 12–20 years participated in the study.ResultsHealth risk behaviors with highest prevalence rates included: engagement in physical fight (32.1%); threatened/injured with a weapon (19.9%); feelings of sadness/hopelessness (32.2%); current cigarette use (13.6%); and no condom use at last sexual intercourse (69.1%). Urban and male students reported statistically significant higher prevalence of most youth risk behaviors; female students reported statistically significant higher prevalence of feelings of sadness/hopelessness (35.6%), suicidal ideation (17.9%) and, among the sexually experienced, forced sexual intercourse (20.6%).ConclusionA high percentage of Salvadoran adolescents in this sample engaged in health risk behaviors, warranting enhanced adolescent health promotion strategies. Future health promotion efforts should target: the young age of sexual intercourse as well as low condom use among students, the higher prevalence of risk behaviors among urban students, and the important gender differences in risk behaviors, including the higher prevalence of reported feelings of sadness, suicidal ideation and forced sexual intercourse among females and higher sexual intercourse and substance use among males. Relevance of findings within the Salvadoran and the cross-national context and implications for health promotion efforts are discussed.

Highlights

Adolescence is an important stage of life for establishing healthy behaviors, attitudes, and lifestyles that contribute to current and future health
Our research reports the prevalence of selected youth risk behaviors from a representative cross-sectional sample of Salvadoran secondary students attending rural and urban public schools in the central region of El Salvador
The high percentage of students engaging in health risk behaviors found in this study, with 20%–30% of students reporting at least one health risk behavior from each of the five domains examined, suggests that enhanced adolescent health promotion efforts are warranted to promote a safer river of life for adolescents living in El Salvador

Summary

Introduction

Adolescence is an important stage of life for establishing healthy behaviors, attitudes, and lifestyles that contribute to current and future health. A general term used to describe adverse health behaviors adopted in childhood or adolescence, is one indicator of the health of young people that serves as a basis for measuring adolescent health over time as well as a target for health policies and programs. The importance of this measure is based on its association with several mortality and morbidity outcomes, including intentional injury stemming from aggression and suicidal ideation, chronic disease resulting from substance use and misuse, sexually transmitted disease, and such undesired social outcomes as unintended teenage pregnancy [2]. In addition to exploring differences of risk behavior prevalence within subgroups of this population for the purpose of focusing intervention efforts, this study provides baseline data that can be used to measure youth risk behavior in this region of El Salvador over time

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion