Correlation analysis between adolescent cognitive ability and health risk behaviors

Adolescence is a critical period where major physical and psychologic changes occur. It is also a period where several lifelong health related behaviors are adopted and established. Behaviors such as unhealthy eating, tobacco use, alcohol use, and physical inactivity are related to major causes of morbidity and mortality among young and adults. Physical activity (PA) is an important behavior during adolescence not only because it is associated with general health, but also because it may be associated with other health-related risk behaviors. PURPOSE: To examine the association of physical activity with health risk behaviors in adolescents from Curitiba- Brazil. METHODS: A cross-section study was carried out with a representative sample of 928 (mean age 14.06 ± 1.91 years old, 467 girls) adolescents enrolled in 14 randomly selected public schools from Curitiba, Brazil. The Brazilian version of the Youth Activity Profile survey evaluated PA levels and the YRBS survey evaluated fruit, vegetable, alcohol, and tobacco consumption in the past 30 days. The Adolescent Sedentary Questionnaire evaluated total screen time. Binary Logistic regression measured the association between PA levels and risk behaviors after controlling for gender, age, BMI status, income status, and parent educational level. RESULTS: PA was inversely associated with low fruit consumption (OR = .50, 95% IC = .38 - .66, p <.001), low vegetable consumption (OR =.55, 95% IC = .42 - .73, p < .001), and high screen Time (≥3 hours/day) (OR = .79, 95% IC = .65 - .96, p < .001). Additionally, PA was positively associated with the consumption of at least one dose of alcohol in the past 30 days (OR = 1.47, 95% IC = 1.15 – 1.88, p < .001), and with the excessive consumption of alcohol (OR = 1.73, 95% IC = 1.29 – 2.33, p <.001). PA was not associated with Tobacco consumption (OR = 1.01, 95% IC = .67 – 1.52, p = .96). CONCLUSION: The results indicated that adolescents with higher PA levels consumed more fruits and vegetables and spent less time in front of electronic screens. However, adolescents with higher levels of PA were also more likely to report alcohol consumption in the past 30 days. The social characteristics of alcohol consumption may explain its positive relationship to PA. Supported by CNPq, Brazil.

Recent attachment research suggests that children with avoidant attachment often underreport their psychological distress compared to their physiologic indicators of distress (neuroendocrine reactivity, startle response, event-related potentials). This pattern of behavior (referred to as psychobiological divergence) may confer risk for suboptimal coping behaviors, including substance use, sexual risk-taking, and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), because individuals who are not aware of or cannot express their emotional needs may engage in maladaptive strategies to regulate their emotions. In the current pilot study (N = 45 youth), we investigate whether psychobiological divergence of neuroendocrine and self-reported reactivity in middle childhood prospectively predicts health risk behaviors (HRBs) in adolescence. The results revealed that divergence was significantly associated with adolescents’ substance use and non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), but not with their sexual behavior. Among adolescents currently reporting low levels of attachment security, divergence was associated with greater self-reported NSSI. Our results provide initial evidence that psychobiological divergence confers risk for substance use and NSSI in combination with current relational distress. We discuss the implications of our findings for adolescent development and clinical risk.

BackgroundSocial media (SM) may influence adolescents’ perceived social norms and subsequent health risk behaviours, although the evidence base around this is still developing. We conducted a systematic review of the...

&#x0D; Objective: The objective of this academic work is to demonstrate evidences available in literature about the association among the pubertal maturation and health risk behavior in adolescents.&#x0D; Methods: It was used the database from MEDLINE/Pubmed, Scopus, Lilacs and Web of Science. The terms used in the research, with its variations, were “puberty”, “maturation”, “maturity”, “risk behaviors”, “risk factors”, “adolescent” and “student”.&#x0D; Results: Out of 838 manuscripts found in the databases, after the sorting and applied the eligibility criteria, remained in this systematic review 13 articles. Early maturation was associated significantly with the use of alcohol, cigarettes and illegal drugs, early sexual initiation, sedentary behaviors and involvement in fights, where girls showed higher prevalence.&#x0D; Conclusions: Henceforth, the results from the current study indicates that the early maturation is associated with health risk behaviors in adolescents, especially with the use of alcohol and cigarettes. &#x0D;

Little is known about how physical activity (PA), sedentary behavior, and various adolescent health risk behaviors are associated. The objective of this study was to examine relationships between PA and sedentary behavior patterns and an array of risk behaviors, including leading causes of adolescent morbidity/mortality. Nationally representative self-reported data were collected (National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health; wave I: 1994-1995; II: 1996; N = 11957). Previously developed and validated cluster analyses identified 7 homogeneous groups of adolescents sharing PA and sedentary behaviors. Poisson regression predicted the relative risk of health risk behaviors, other weekly activities, and self-esteem across the 7 PA/sedentary behavior clusters controlling for demographics and socioeconomic status. Main outcome measures were adolescent risk behaviors (eg, truancy, cigarette smoking, sexual intercourse, delinquency), other weekly activities (eg, work, academic performance, sleep), self-esteem. Relative to high television (TV) and video viewers, adolescents in clusters characterized by skating and video gaming, high overall sports and sports participation with parents, using neighborhood recreation center, strict parental control of TV, reporting few activities overall, and being active in school were less likely to participate in a range of risky behaviors, ranging from an adjusted risk ratio (ARR) of 0.42 (outcome: illegal drug use, cluster: strict parental control of TV) to 0.88 (outcome: violence, cluster: sports with parents). Active teens were less likely to have low self-esteem (eg, adolescents engaging in sports with parents, ARR: 0.73) and more likely to have higher grades (eg, active in school, ARR: 1.20). Participation in a range of PA-related behaviors, particularly those characterized by high parental sports/exercise involvement, was associated with favorable adolescent risk profiles. Adolescents with high TV/video viewership were less likely to have positive risk behavior outcomes. Enhancing opportunities for PA and sport may have a beneficial effect on leading adolescent risk behaviors.

Addressing Common Risk and Protective Factors Can Prevent a Wide Range of Adolescent Risk Behaviors

BackgroundThis study explores the association between chronotypes and adolescent health risk behaviors (HRBs) by testing how genetic background moderates these associations and clarifies the influence of chronotypes and polygenic risk score (PRS) on adolescent HRBs.MethodsUsing VOS-viewer software to select the corresponding data, this study used knowledge domain mapping to identify and develop the research direction with respect to adolescent risk factor type. Next, DNA samples from 264 students were collected for low-depth whole-genome sequencing. The sequencing detected HRB risk loci, 49 single nucleotide polymorphisms based to significant SNP. Subsequently, PRSs were assessed and divided into low, moderate, and high genetic risk according to the tertiles and chronotypes and interaction models were constructed to evaluate the association of interaction effect and clustering of adolescent HRBs. The chronotypes and the association between CLOCK-PRS and HRBs were examined to explore the association between chronotypes and mental health and circadian CLOCK-PRS and HRBs.ResultsFour prominent areas were displayed by clustering information fields in network and density visualization modes in VOS-viewer. The total score of evening chronotypes correlated with high-level clustering of HRBs in adolescents, co-occurrence, and mental health, and the difference was statistically significant. After controlling covariates, the results remained consistent. Three-way interactions between chronotype, age, and mental health were observed, and the differences were statistically significant. CLOCK-PRS was constructed to identify genetic susceptibility to the clustering of HRBs. The interaction of evening chronotypes and high genetic risk CLOCK-PRS was positively correlated with high-level clustering of HRBs and HRB co-occurrence in adolescents, and the difference was statistically significant. The interaction between the sub-dimensions of evening chronotypes and the high genetic CLOCK-PRS risk correlated with the outcome of the clustering of HRBs and HRB co-occurrence.ConclusionsThe interaction of PRS and chronotype and the HRBs in adolescents appear to have an association, and the three-way interaction between the CLOCK-PRS, chronotype, and mental health plays important roles for HRBs in adolescents.

PurposePromoting positive mental health, particularly through enhancing competencies (such as prosocial behaviors and learning skills), may help prevent the development of health risk behaviors in adolescence and thus support future well-being. Few studies have examined how mental health competencies in childhood are associated with adolescent health risk behaviors, which could inform preventative approaches. MethodsUsing UK Millennium Cohort Study data (n = 10,142), we examined how mental health competence (MHC) measured at the end of elementary school (11 years) is associated with self-reported use of cigarettes, e-cigarettes, alcohol, illegal drugs, antisocial behavior, and sexual contact with another young person at age 14 years. A latent measure of MHC was used, capturing aspects of prosocial behavior and learning skills, categorized as high MHC, high–moderate MHC, moderate MHC, and low MHC. Logistic and multinomial regression estimated odds ratios and relative risk ratios for binary and categorical outcomes, respectively, before and after adjusting for confounders. Weights accounted for sample design and attrition and multiple imputation for item missingness. ResultsThose with low, moderate, or high-moderate MHC at age 11 years were more likely to have taken part in health risk behaviors at age 14 years compared with those with high MHC. The largest associations were seen for low MHC with binge drinking (relative risk ratio: 1.6 [95% confidence interval: 1.1–2.4]), having tried cigarettes (odds ratio: 2.2 [95% confidence interval: 1.6-3.1]) and tried illegal drugs (odds ratio: 2.0 [95% confidence interval: 1.3-3.1) after adjusting for confounders (which attenuated results but largely maintained significant findings). ConclusionsMHC in late childhood is associated with health risk behaviors in midadolescence. Interventions that increase children's MHC may support healthy development during adolescence, with the potential to improve health and well-being through to adulthood.

To explore possible interrelationships among resistance to peer pressure, risky decision-making and health risk behaviors among young adolescents. Based on the cluster sampling method, the participants who were recruited from 5 junior middle schools in Guangzhou and 3 junior middle schools in Shenyang city on October, 2010, were administered to complete the questionnaire concerned with their experiences with drinking and smoking during the past 30 days preceding the survey, and the hours using computer daily both in weekdays and in weekend. The level of resistance to peer influence and risky decision-making were assessed by Resistance to peer influence scale (RPIS) and Youth decision-making questionnaire (YDMQ). Logistic regression was used to explore possible interrelationships among resistance to peer influence, risky decision-making and health risk behaviors among young adolescents. A total of 1985 questionnaires were valid, including 1001(50.4%) boys and 984 (49.6%) girls. About 27.1% (537/1985) junior middle school students reported having health risk behaviors, boys' (30.7%, 307/1001) was higher than girls' (23.4%, 230/984) with significant gender difference (P < 0.05). The prevalence of smoking, drinking during the past 30 days before the survey and using computer over 3 hours daily in weekdays and in weekend were 5.1% (102/1985), 14.3% (284/1985), 3.5% (70/1985) and 13.7% (272/1985), respectively. The rate of drinking, using computer over 3 hours daily in weekdays and in weekend were higher in males (16.4% (164/1001), 4.5% (45/1001), 16.2% (162/1001)) than those in females (12.2% (120/984), 2.5% (25/984), 11.2% (110/984)) (P < 0.05). The scores of RPIS and YDMQ of the two cities adolescents were 2.82 ± 0.39 and 1.68 ± 0.62. The students reported smoking, drinking during the past 30 days before the survey and using computer over 3 hours daily in weekend gained lower RPIS scores (2.43 ± 0.40, 2.61 ± 0.41, 2.77 ± 0.40) than their counterparts who didn't report these kind of health risk behaviors (2.84 ± 0.38, 2.85 ± 0.38, 2.82 ± 0.39)(P < 0.05). And those reported smoking, drinking during the past 30 days before the survey and using computer over 3 hours daily in weekdays and in weekend gained higher YDMQ scores (2.38 ± 0.66, 2.06 ± 0.66, 1.97 ± 0.72, 1.84 ± 0.64, respectively) than their counterparts who didn't report these kind of health risk behaviors (1.64 ± 0.38, 1.61 ± 0.58, 1.67 ± 0.61, 1.65 ± 0.61, respectively) (P < 0.05). After adjusting gender, area, parental education degree, self-reported family economic condition, multi-variant logistic regression analysis indicated that the low and middle level of resistance to peer influence (low and middle level vs high level, had odds ratios of 2.97 (1.96 - 4.50) and 1.51 (1.05 - 2.16)), and also the middle and high level of risky decision-making (middle and high level vs low level, had odds ratios of 1.62 (1.19 - 2.22) and 3.43 (2.39 - 4.90)) were all the risk factors of adolescent health risk behaviors. Adolescents with poor ability of resistance to peer pressure and high risky decision-making were both the risk factors of adolescent health risk behaviors.

To conduct a systematic review and meta-analysis to verify the association of aspects of sports practice with health risk behaviors in adolescents. A systematic search was conducted of electronic manuscripts from the United States National Library of Medicine (PubMed)/ Medical Literature Analysis and Retrieval System Online (MEDLINE), Web of Science, Science Direct, and Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO) published from January 2015 to December 2022. Studies examining the association between sport and health risk behaviors in adolescents aged 11 to 19 years were included. This study was registered in the International Prospective Register of Systematic Reviews (PROSPERO) under number CRD42023392053. In total, 22 studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria. The association of sports practice with sedentary behavior showed odds ratio (OR) values ranging from 0,61 to 0,92, tobacco use from 0,35 to 0,73, illicit drugs from 0,40 to 0,91, and reduced inadequate sleep on weekdays of 0.57 (95% confidence interval - 95%CI 0.52-0.63) and weekends 0.79 (95%CI 0.69-0.89). In the meta-analysis, sports practice was significantly associated with alcohol consumption for boys (OR 1,36; CI95% 1,09-1,70), and was inversely associated with tobacco use for boys and girls (OR 0,59; CI95% 0,56-0,61). Adolescents who practice sports tend to have lower occurrences of sedentary behavior, tobacco and illicit drug use, and adequate amounts of sleep; and, in the meta-analysis, boys present higher values for alcohol consumption and boys and girls present lower values for tobacco use.

Racial variability in associations of neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage and neighborhood disorder with adolescent health risk behaviors remains under-researched, which this study examined over 1 year among racially diverse adolescents. High school students (N = 345; 18% Asian, 44% Black, 16% Multiracial, 22% White) completed surveys assessing neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage and neighborhood disorder, and health risk behaviors (lifetime alcohol, cannabis, and cigarette use, number of sexual partners) at baseline (Year 1) and 1-year follow-up (Year 2). Asian, Black, and Multiracial adolescents were more likely to endorse health risk behaviors in Year 2 compared to White adolescents living in similarly disadvantaged neighborhoods at Year 1. Associations of neighborhood disorder with health risk behavior did not differ by race. Neighborhood socioeconomic disadvantage (but not neighborhood disorder) may predispose Asian, Black, and Multiracial adolescents to health risk behaviors. Findings may inform interventions to address racial disparities in adolescent health risk behaviors.

Body weight dissatisfaction has been described as a marker for various health diseases, given its direct association with social, physical, and emotional suffering. We investigated the association between body weight dissatisfaction and health risk behaviors in adolescents. This was a cross-sectional study conducted with 668 adolescents aged 14-19years in the city of São José, southern Brazil. Body weight satisfaction/dissatisfaction was assessed using a questionnaire validated for the investigated population. Health risk behaviors included smoking, alcohol, illicit drugs, medication, non-prescription anabolic steroids, not using seatbelt, unsafe sexual behavior and not knowing how to deal with day-to-day stress. Among males, 66.1% were dissatisfied with their body weight (32.1% due to thinness and 34.0% due to overweight). Among females, 80.0% were dissatisfied with their body weight (24.5% due to thinness and 55.5% due to overweight). There were no significant differences regarding health risk behaviors according to body weight satisfaction/dissatisfaction and sex. Compared to males who were satisfied with their body weight, those who were dissatisfied due to being overweight were more likely to be using tobacco (OR: 2.9; 95% CI: 2.1-4.2), alcohol (OR: 1.7; 95% CI: 1.5-1.9) and anabolic steroids (OR: 2.7; 95% CI: 1.2-5.7). Compared to females who were satisfied with their body weight, those who were dissatisfied due to thinness were more likely to be consuming alcoholic beverages (OR: 1.6; 95% CI: 1.2-2.0) and less likely to be consuming illicit drugs (OR: 0.5; 95% CI: 0.3-0.8). Interventions aimed at health education regarding the non-adoption of risk behaviors such as alcohol and tobacco use, as well as the non-use of anabolic steroids, and favoring the maintenance of general health, may be important for adolescents with body dissatisfaction. These data suggest that health risk behaviors such as adolescent male use of tobacco, alcohol, and anabolic steroids and the use of alcohol and drugs by female adolescents can be related to body weight dissatisfaction.

We aim to investigate the status and influence factors of health risk behaviors among middle school students and explore the relationship between social support, family care, and the health risk behaviors.The study was conducted in 3 middle schools in the Fan county located in the Puyang city. Independent measures were applied to assess adolescent health risk behaviors, perceive social support, and family care. Multiple regression analysis was used to analyze the main factors that affect adolescent health risk behaviors.The total scores of health risk behaviors were 53.87 ± 9.97, and all kinds of health risk behaviors were very common. The highest score was health-compromising (2.45 ± 0.43), and the lowest score was unprotected sex behaviors (1.07 ± 0.28). Multiple regression analysis showed that sex (P < .001), grade (P < .001), parent relationships (P < .001), father’s occupation (P = .035), mother’s education level (P = .011), social support (P < .001), affection (P < .001), and growth (P = .003) were the main factors of health risk behaviors, accounting for 25.3%.The health risk behaviors among middle school students in Fan county should attract the attention of education administration, schools, and parent due to the varied influencing factors. Related interventions should be conducted to reduce the severity and frequency of adolescent health risk behaviors and protect the health and growth of adolescents. In order to better analyze the health risk behaviors of middle school students, we will incorporate more influencing factors and carry out further causal analysis in the future.

Background: The advances in medical practice have increased the average life expectancy of people living with sickle cell disease (SCD) to 54 years. The high prevalence rates of SCD in Nigeria therefore highlights the need for research that will support overall disease management. Objective: To determine the health risk behavior (HRB) of adolescents with sickle cell disease in Nigeria. Materials and methods: In a cross-sectional descriptive survey using purposive sampling method, 122 adolescents with SCD attending sickle cell clubs in Ogun State, Nigeria were selected for the study. A 58-item questionnaire adapted from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) instrument developed by Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) was used to collect data from the adolescents. Results: The mean age of the respondents was 15.7 ± 2.3 years, there were more females (58.2%) than males (41.2%). Majority were from a monogamous family setting and average to large family size (≥3siblings) (63% and 76% respectively) and only 6% of the parents had no formal education. The mean ages at first sexual intercourse, cigarette smoking and alcohol use were 16 ± 5.7, 15.7 ± 0.7, and 14.9 ± 1.9 years respectively. One-fifth (21.3%) have had sex and half (50%) of them have had sex by the age of 17. Over one-tenth (13.9%) had smoked cigarette while 14.8% had taken alcohol. Adolescents from monogamous family background were more likely to be involved in substance abuse (χ2: 4.99; P=0.008) and exposed to sexual activities (χ2: 10.9; P=0.004) than those from polygamous or single parent family. Conclusion: It was concluded that adolescents with SCD are involved in HRB and may be dependent on family characteristics. It is recommended that regular health care of chronically ill adolescents should include screening and counselling for HRBs.

Risk behavior in adolescence is widely researched and is an important focus for researchers, federal and state agencies, and schools; however, goals differ across these settings and as such the measurement strategies must also differ. Schools require more frequent and efficient measures that better align with educational goals of increasing positive behaviors. The Prosocial and Health Adolescent Risk Behavior Scale was developed to meet this need. Participants were 682, 9th through 12th grade students (53 % female; 57 % White), from three midwestern high schools. Reliability and preliminary validity analyses resulted in a brief 20 item scale that measures both prosocial and health risk behavior participation. This scale has the potential to move adolescent risk behavior research and measurement forward through its unique conceptualization of risk behavior and its potential use across both research and applied settings.