Longitudinal impact of weight-related intentions with the initiation and maintenance of smoking among adolescents

Abstract

The average scores for self-reported health knowledge was 6.5 (range 0–10), health attitudes 5.6 (0–8), health intentions 2.6 (0–4), self-efficacy 4.4 (0–7), health behaviors 15.2 (6–26), and parental health behavior 4.1 (0–8). Girls reported more intentions to engage in healthy behaviors than boys, although boys reported more healthy behaviors than girls (p 0.05). Pearson’s correlation demonstrated significant associations between parental behavior and subject health attitudes (R 0.189), intentions (R 0.309), self-efficacy (R 0.321), and behavior (R 0.202), all p-values 0.01. Controlling for demographic characteristics, linear regression analyses demonstrated that perceived parental behavior was independently associated with subject intentions ( 0.101, p 0.002), self-efficacy ( 0.200, p 0.000), and reported behaviors ( 0.294, p 0.027). Parental behavior was not associated with adolescent knowledge or attitudes. Conclusions: This study confirms that parental behavior plays a significant role in adolescent attitudes, intentions, and actual behavior towards nutrition and physical activity. Preventive interventions need to include families, especially when children are young, as this may play a significant role in combating child and adolescent obesity.