INTRODUCTION New paradigms based on the multifactorial etiology of chronic diseases and behavioral outcomes suggest that a combination of health behaviors may have more impact on the outcome of interest than any single factor. OBJECTIVE To examine the independent and combined influence of four health behaviors on school performance in Spanish adolescents. METHODS A total of 1825 Spanish ado...

BACKGROUND Adolescence in girls has been recognized as a special period marked with the onset of menarche. Even though menstruation is a natural process, it is associated with misconceptions, malpractices and challenges among girls in developing countries. However, much is not documented; school-absenteeism and dropout are a common problem among girls in rural Ethiopia. Focusing among school gi...

OBJECTIVES This study sought to identify early predictors of adolescent violence and to assess whether they vary by sex and across different types and levels of violence. METHODS Data from a 5-year longitudinal self-report survey of more than 4300 high school seniors and dropouts from California and Oregon were used to regress measures of relational, predatory, and overall violence on predict...

BACKGROUND Dietary behaviours and physical activity are modifiable risk factors to address increasing levels of obesity among children and adolescents, and consequently to reduce later cardiovascular and metabolic disease. This paper explores perceptions, attitudes, barriers, and facilitators related to healthy eating and physical activity among adolescent girls in rural South Africa. METHODS...

OBJECTIVE The present study was conducted to assess the BMI and Body Fat percent among the affluent adolescent girls (n = 794) (9-18 years) and to determine the prevalence of overweight and obesity. METHOD All measurements were recorded for two and a half years, at six monthly intervals. The study design was crosslinked longitudinal in nature, thus increasing the sample size at the end of the...

For the majority of Polish students school is a source of negative experiences and therefore may increase the risk of adolescent problem behaviors. The results of the study conducted in Warsaw middle schools (N=2244, 54% girls) indicated that changes for worse (between 7 and 8 grade) in students' behavior increase the risk of drug use. However, changes for better in students' perception of scho...

OBJECTIVE To examine the impact of sexuality education practices on adolescent birthrates while controlling for demographic characteristics and religious/political factors at a state level. DESIGN Prospective cohort study. SETTING Twenty-four states, from 1997 through 2005. PARTICIPANTS Girls aged 15 to 17 years. MAIN EXPOSURE The state sexuality education practices (ie, sexually transm...

BACKGROUND Many adolescent girls in low-income and middle-income countries lack appropriate facilities and support in school to manage menstruation. Little research has been conducted on how menstruation affects school absence. This study examines the association of menstrual hygiene management knowledge, facilities and practice with absence from school during menstruation among Bangladeshi sch...