Changing multiple health risk behaviors in CHOICES

Covariance among Multiple Health Risk Behaviors in Adolescents

PURPOSE In a diverse group of early adolescents, this study explores the co-occurrence of a broad range of health risk behaviors: alcohol, cigarette, and marijuana use; physical inactivity; sedentary computing/gaming; and the consumption of low-nutrient energy-dense food. We tested differences in the associations of unhealthy behaviors over time, and by gender, race/ethnicity, and socioeconomic...

Changing health behaviors through the medical interview.

I am writing this editorial from three perspectives: as a primary care physician searching for an alternative to the fruitless admonishment of patients to abandon their destructive health behaviors; as a teacher trying to instill new attitudes and skills related to medical interviewing; and as an investigator looking for ways to understand how patient-physician interactions affect health outcom...

120911 - Changing Choices vs.indd

120911 - Changing Choices vs.indd

Su m m ar y summAry Adolescence is a period of physical, psychological and social transitions from childhood to adulthood. It is associated with a unique set of behaviours, resulting in the common view that adolescents are myopic risk-takers, who are unable to plan ahead or envision the long-term consequences of their decisions and actions. It is also a period of continued development of the co...

120911 - Changing Choices vs.indd

This study examined age-related changes in a specific aspect of adolescent decisionmaking, namely the preference for future versus immediate outcomes. A sample of 622 Dutch adolescents aged 12 -17 years completed a temporal discounting task. Participants were asked to choose between a delayed reward of €50 or an immediate reward of lower value. The delay interval was varied in three blocks (1 w...