Behavioral profile, lifestyle and social skills in Portuguese adolescents

Clarisse Magalhães,Susana Pedras,Gustavo Silva,Sara Lima,Maria Fátima Ribeiro,Assunção Nogueira,Teresa Herdeiro,Luísa Aires,Maria Raquel Esteves

doi:10.1186/s12889-021-10355-1

Abstract

BackgroundSeventy percent of premature deaths in adults are due to behaviors initiated during adolescence. Therefore, it is essential to promote individual and social behaviors that educate adolescents in the ability to make healthy choices. Accordingly, the main goals of this study were to characterize Lifestyles and Social Skills, as well as identify homogeneous subgroups, in a sample of Portuguese adolescents.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted, including 1008 adolescents attending the 7th to the 9th grades of five middle schools from the Tâmega and Sousa regions of Portugal, and using the My Lifestyle Questionnaire and the Social Skills Inventory. To establish a profile of the participants, a Cluster Analysis (K-means) was performed, and the Jaccard coefficient was used to assess the stability of the solution found.ResultsFrom the total sample, 556 adolescents with a mean age of 13.43 years (SD = 1.1) were included in the analysis. The majority of the sample presented a healthy lifestyle (72.26%) and 50.7% of the adolescents had a highly elaborated repertoire of Social Skills. Moreover, three clusters were found. Cluster 1 (n = 92) showed a less elaborate repertoire of Social Skills and was designated as the “Adjusted”. Cluster 2 (n = 115) comprised adolescents with a good repertoire of Social Skills and was named the “Sociable”. Cluster 3 (n = 258) was composed of adolescents with a highly elaborate repertoire of Social Skills and the best Lifestyle indicators and was named the “Healthy”.ConclusionsThe group of adolescents in the cluster called the “Sociable” needs to be included in health education and Social Skills programs. Nutrition and Monitored Safety behaviors reveal low values and, therefore, present a greater need for awareness, sensitization, and intervention in the school context. For this reason, the promotion of a healthy lifestyle should be part of the academic curriculum and transversal to all academic disciplines.

Highlights

Seventy percent of premature deaths in adults are due to behaviors initiated during adolescence
Sample characterization This study included 1008 adolescents attending the 7th to the 9th grade of five middle schools from the Tâmega and Sousa region of Portugal, with a mean age of 13.43 years (SD = 1.1)
The Monitored safety subscale had a mean score of 65.69% while the subscale Nutrition had the lowest mean score, 59.97%, still higher than 50%

Summary

Introduction

Seventy percent of premature deaths in adults are due to behaviors initiated during adolescence. The leading causes of illness and deaths among young adults are largely preventable [1] and studies have shown that about 70% of premature adult deaths are due to behaviors initiated during adolescence (e.g. tobacco use, drugs, and reckless driving) [2]. Sleep patterns, and protective sexual behaviors are important targets of studies and interventions [7,8,9,10]. The behaviors associated with road safety, which prevent injuries and accidents, are important and include avoiding traveling with someone who has drunk too much, driving within speed limits, and wearing seat belts. The use of drugs and medicines not prescribed by a physician, and the use of sedatives or amphetamines are closely associated with adverse consequences and with unhealthy growth patterns in adolescents [12,13,14,15]

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