Health-promoting lifestyle and its predictors among Iranian adolescent girls, 2013

Abstract

Health-promoting behaviors have considerable effects on improving life quality and decreasing healthcare expenses. This study aimed to determine the status of health-promoting behaviors and its subscales, as well as its relationship with self-efficacy and some socio-demographic characteristics in adolescent Iranian girls. The participants in this study were 750 adolescent girls aged 14-18 years, living in the city of Sanandaj, Iran in 2013. Samples were selected randomly. Questionnaires used in the study were the "Adolescent Healthy Lifestyle" and "Sherer General Self-efficacy" questionnaires. Multivariate linear regresion analysis was used to determine predictors of health-promoting lifestyle. Mean total score of health-promoting lifestyles in adolescent girls was 3.51 (SD 0.55) and its observed scores ranged from 1 to 5. The highest and lowest mean scores were obtained for life appreciation and physical activity subscales, respectively. Self-efficacy had significant positive correlation with the total health-promoting lifestyle scores and all its subscales. The variables of self-efficacy, current disease, mother's education, mother's occupation, and sufficiency of income for expenses remained in the multivariate linear regresion model and were able to explain 21% of the observed variance of the total score for health-promoting lifestyle. The findings show that adolescents "sometimes" or "often" show health-promoting behaviors. In addition to self-efficacy as the main predictor, some of the socio-demographic characteristics are also among the predictors of health behaviors. With consideration of adolescence years as a foundation for one's future life, it is necessary to provide strategies to encourage a health-promoting lifestyle in adolescents.