@article{ref1,
title="Health-risk behaviors among a sample of US pre-adolescents: Types, frequency, and predictive factors",
journal="International journal of nursing studies",
year="2013",
author="Riesch, Susan K. and Kedrowski, Karen and Brown, Roger L. and Temkin, Barbara Myers and Wang, Kevin and Henriques, Jeffrey and Jacobson, Gloria and Giustino-Kluba, Nina",
volume="50",
number="8",
pages="1067-1079",
abstract="BACKGROUND: Children as young as 10 years old report curiosity and participation in health-risk behaviors, yet most studies focus upon adolescent samples. OBJECTIVE: To document the types and frequencies of health risk behavior among pre-adolescents and to examine the child, family, and environment factors that predict them. METHOD: A sample of 297 pre-adolescents (mean age=10.5, SD=0.6) from two Midwestern US cities and their parents (child-parent dyads) provided data about demographic characteristics, health risk behavior participation, child self-esteem, child pubertal development, child and adult perception of their neighborhood, and parent monitoring. Their participation was at intake to a 5-year clustered randomized controlled trial. RESULTS: Pre-adolescents participated in an average of 3.7 health-risk behaviors (SD=2.0), primarily those that lead to unintentional (helmet and seatbelt use) and intentional (feeling unsafe, having something stolen, and physical fighting) injury. Factors predictive of unintentional injury risk behavior were self-esteem, pubertal development, parent monitoring, and parent perception of the neighborhood environment. Boys were 1.8 times less likely than girls to use helmets and seatbelts. Pre-adolescents whose parents were not partnered were 2.8 times more likely than pre-adolescents whose parents were partnered to report intentional risk behavior. RECOMMENDATIONS: These data demonstrate trends that cannot be ignored. We recommend, focused specifically upon boys and non-partnered families that (a) developmentally appropriate, appealing prevention messages be developed and delivered for parents and pre-adolescents and community interventions targeting both parent and pre-adolescent together be provided to help them establish and monitor behavioral expectations and (b) organized nursing endorse policy in the US and globally that assures adequate family environments for children.<p /> <p>Language: en</p>",
language="en",
issn="0020-7489",
doi="10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2012.10.012",
url="http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijnurstu.2012.10.012"
}