Abstract
BackgroundHealth-promoting lifestyles of adolescents are closely related to their current and subsequent health status. However, few studies in mainland China have examined health-promoting behaviors among university students, notwithstanding the dramatic development of higher education over the past two decades. Moreover, no study has applied a standardized scale to such an investigation. The adolescent health promotion (AHP) scale has been developed and is commonly used for measuring adolescent health-promoting lifestyles in Taiwan. The aim of this study is to determine the appropriateness of the AHP for use in mainland China.MethodsA cross-sectional study was performed on a total of 420 undergraduates, who were randomly selected using a two-stage stratified sampling method in a university in Guangzhou city, mainland China. The simplified Chinese version of the AHP scale, comprising six dimensions (Nutrition behavior, Social support, Life-appreciation, Exercise behavior, Health-responsibility and Stress-management), was used to measure health-promoting lifestyles among undergraduates. The reliability of the AHP scale was assessed using split-half reliability coefficients, intraclass correlation coefficients and Cronbach's α coefficient. Validity was assessed by factor analysis and correlation analysis. Factors associated with health-promoting lifestyles were identified using multiple linear regression.ResultsCronbach's coefficients were greater than 0.7 in all dimensions of the AHP scale except for Nutrition behavior (0.684). Intraclass correlation coefficients ranged from 0.689 to 0.921. Split-half reliability coefficients were higher than 0.7 in three AHP dimensions (Social support, Life-appreciation and Exercise behavior). Our results were generally in accordance with the theoretical construction of the AHP scale. The mean score for each of the six dimensions was lower than 70. Gender and grade were the factors primarily associated with health-promoting lifestyles among undergraduates.ConclusionThe AHP is a valid and reliable instrument for assessing health-promoting lifestyles of undergraduates in mainland China, which remain at a low level. Health behavior education taking account of gender and grade differences may also be applied.
Highlights
Health-promoting lifestyles of adolescents are closely related to their current and subsequent health status
Our aim in the present study is to examine the reliability and validity of the adolescent health promotion (AHP) scale for application to undergraduates in mainland China, investigating the prevalence of health-promoting behaviors and identifying the associated factors
The present study found α values above 0.7 for all dimensions except for Nutrition behavior, indicating that the internal consistency is satisfactory when the AHP scale is used in mainland China
Summary
Health-promoting lifestyles of adolescents are closely related to their current and subsequent health status. There is a great deal of evidence that adolescents, those in the age range 15-24, engage in health-risk behaviors such as smoking, drinking, having unprotected sexual intercourse, carrying weapons and adopting poor eating habits. These behaviors lead to a variety of adverse health outcomes, including major morbidities and mortalities among that age group [7,8], and will be carried into adulthood, jeopardizing their health status in later life [9]. This is an ideal time to conduct health education for adolescents in a higher education environment in terms of cost-effectiveness
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