Prevalence and correlates of problem behaviors among adolescents in Hong Kong

The aims of this study were to examine the frequency and correlates of problem behaviors among Hong Kong adolescents. It is a cross-sectional survey targeting secondary forms 1 to 3 (equivalent to grades 7-9 in the United States) students (N = 1029). A self-administered questionnaire was used as the measurement tool. The study found that there are intercorrelations of problem behaviors in adolescence, such as tobacco use, alcohol use, drug abuse, and having connections with triad society. Given the intercorrelations among problem behaviors, identification of a single type of problem behavior in adolescents can help discover the likelihood of the occurrence of other problem behaviors. It can facilitate identification and intervention at an early stage. The results provide some insights for the concerned authorities to develop a syndrome approach addressing problem behaviors.     

The correlates of depressed mood in adolescents in Hong Kong.

PURPOSE: Most studies of depressed mood and its correlates in adolescents have been conducted in Western countries. This study examined the relationship between a broad range of stressors and depressed mood in a community sample of Hong Kong adolescents. METHODS: Secondary school students (n = 996) completed the Chinese Beck Depression Inventory (C-BDI), provided demographic information, and indicated their perceptions of family and peer relationships, school function and pressures, and subjective health, and some measures salient to the Hong Kong environment: triad gang pressure, religiosity, and intent to emigrate. The correlation between C-BDI and these variables was assessed in bivariate and multivariate analyses. RESULTS: Hong Kong adolescents reported higher levels of depressive symptoms than a comparison group of Western teenagers. Girls showed more symptoms than boys. All stressors correlated in bivariate analyses with C-BDI, indicating similar influences on depressed mood in Western and Hong Kong teenagers. In multivariate analyses, the stressors contributed cumulatively to the C-BDI score. Perceptions of a lack of parental understanding and peer acceptance appeared as the strongest variables in predicting depressed mood. CONCLUSIONS: Depressed mood is highly prevalent among Hong Kong teenagers. Stressors play a cumulative role in their relationship to mood. Our findings point to the importance of broad screening of this vulnerable population.     

Suicidality and cultural values among Hong Kong adolescents

Scholars have proposed that individualistic values resulting from globalization are associated with increasing behavioral and emotional problems among youth in modernizing cultures. This study examined specific individualistic and traditional values in the context of suicidal ideation and behaviors in Hong Kong among community adolescent youths (N=2427) ages 14-18 years. Participants indicated the extent to which self-direction/independence and obedience/respect for elders were important to them. They also reported on four progressive levels of suicidality: whether in the last year they had experienced suicidal ideation, made plans for a suicide attempt, attempted suicide, and (for attemptors) made a serious attempt requiring medical attention. After controlling for quality of family relationships and depressive symptoms, at least one of the values predicted suicidality at all but the highest level. There were sex-specific associations between values and suicidality. In general, endorsement of self-direction was correlated with reduced risk of suicidality for boys and was irrelevant to girls. In contrast, traditional emphases on obedience and respect for elders were more frequently protective against suicidality for girls and were inconsistent predictors for boys. The relationship between values and suicidality was generally independent of the effect of family relationships and depressive symptoms. Thus, values were associated with adolescent suicidality, but not consistently in the direction predicted by some theorists, and the association depended upon the adolescent's sex.     

Prevalence and risk factors for smoking among adolescents

OBJECTIVE: Tobacco smoking is one of the main causes of preventable disease and premature disability. The study was aimed at measuring smoking prevalence and related risk factors among adolescents. METHODS: A population-based cross-sectional study was carried out in a representative sample of 1,187 adolescents aged 10 to 19 years living in the urban area of Pelotas, southern Brazil. All adolescents were interviewed separately using a confidential coded questionnaire. Kaplan-Meier test was performed for survival curve analysis. RESULTS: The overall smoking prevalence rate in the sample was 12.1% (95% CI 10.3%-14%). Boys and girls had similar prevalence rates. The following were the risk factors for smoking found in the multivariate logistic regression analysis: older age (OR=28.7; 95% CI 11.5-71.4), older smoking siblings (OR=2.4; 95% CI 1.5-3.8), three or more smoking friends (OR=17.5; 95% CI 8.8-34.8) and low schooling (OR=3.5; 95% CI 1.5-8.0). CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of smoking among adolescents in the city of Pelotas was high. Campaigns against tobacco use should be aimed at the community and families, targeting adolescents. The government must adopt legal actions in order to prevent adolescents to have access to to smoking.     

Nonvoluntary sexual activity among adolescents

Data from the 1987 round of the National Survey of Children indicate that seven percent of Americans aged 18-22 have experienced at least one episode of nonvoluntary sexual intercourse. Women were more likely than men to report having had such an experience, with just under half of all nonvoluntary experiences among women occurring before the age of 14. Multiple classification analysis reveals that white women who had lived apart from their parents before age 16, those who had been brought up in poverty, those who had had a physical, emotional or mental limitation when they were young, those whose parents had been heavy drinkers, those whose parents had used illegal drugs and those whose parents had smoked cigarettes when they themselves were teenagers were at significantly greater risk for experiencing sexual abuse. Six percent of young white women with no risk factors, nine percent of those with one, 26 percent of those with two, and 68 percent of those with three or more had been sexually abused before or during adolescence.     

Prevalence and correlates of passive smoking.

The duration per week of exposure to others'' tobacco smoke in different locations was tabulated from the questionnaire responses of 37,881 non-smokers and ex-smokers who received multiphasic health checkups in 1979 and 1980. Altogether 63.3 per cent of subjects reported some exposure, 34.5 per cent were exposed at least 10 hours per week, and 15.9 per cent at least 40 hours per week. Duration of exposure per week was weakly correlated with serum thiocyanate level in a small test group. Exposure was strongly related to age with a peak of 78.2 per cent in the twenties decade and an accelerating decline thereafter to 13.9 per cent in those age 80 and over. Sex and race were related to passive smoking only to a relatively small degree. Persons reporting longer exposures were more apt to report greater use of alcohol and marijuana, exposure to occupational hazards, and being currently not married. Lack of college education was most frequent among those denying exposure but was directly related to exposure duration among those reporting some passive smoking. Studies of the health effects of passive smoking should take into account these associated factors. Although the reported passive smoking of married persons was strongly related to their spouses'' habits, categorization by spouses'' smoking resulted in considerable misclassification.     

Hopelessness in Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong: demographic and family correlates

Chinese secondary school students (N = 3,017) responded to measures of adolescent hopelessness, perceived parental behavioral control (indexed by parental knowledge, expectation, monitoring, discipline, and demandingness, as well as Chinese parental control attributes), parental psychological control, and parent-child relational qualities (satisfaction with parental control, child's readiness to communicate with the parents and perceived mutual trust). Results showed that roughly one-fifth of Chinese adolescents displayed signs of hopelessness and adolescent hopelessness was related to adolescent age and gender as well as parental education and marital status. Although parental behavioral control was negatively related to adolescent hopelessness, parental psychological control was positively associated with adolescent hopelessness. Participants perceived parent-child relational qualities to be better showed lower levels of hopelessness.     

Exposure to suicide and suicidal behaviors among Hong Kong adolescents

Suicidal behaviors (deliberate self-injury with the intent to hurt or kill oneself) have been little examined outside the West. The aims of this study were to (a) determine the correlates of suicidal behaviors, and (b) examine whether depression and suicide ideation moderated the effects of exposure to completed and attempted suicide on suicidal behaviors among a community sample of Hong Kong youth ages 12-17. Adolescents responded to questions regarding self-injurious behaviors, and also indicated presence of intention to hurt or kill themselves in the past 12 months. Based on their responses, two groups of interest were formed: 96 youths reported both self-injurious behaviors and the intent to hurt or kill themselves, and formed the "suicidal behaviors" group; and, 1213 adolescents reported neither self-injurious behaviors nor intent to hurt self or die, and formed the control group. The participants also responded to questions about depressive symptoms, anxiety, suicidal ideation and attempt, alcohol/drug use, stressful life events, and family relationships. They indicated whether anyone they knew had attempted or completed suicide in the previous 12 months. Logistic regression indicated that depressive symptoms, stressful life events, suicidal ideation and exposure to suicide attempt (but not completed suicide) contributed unique variance to the presence of suicidal behaviors, after controlling for demographic variables. Depression (and at trend levels, suicidal ideation) moderated the effect of exposure to suicide attempt by others on suicidal behaviors. Our results indicate that completed suicide in the social network increases risk for suicidal behaviors, but not when other risk factors are controlled. By contrast, a suicide attempt independently increases risk for suicidal behaviors. Furthermore, those youths who experience depressive symptoms or suicidal ideation are at particularly high risk for engaging in suicidal behaviors when an exposure to suicide attempt occurs.     

Prevalence of childhood sexual abuse among Mexican adolescents

Background   To determine the characteristics and prevalence of previous child sexual abuse among a group of Mexican junior high school students.
Methods   A total of 1067 adolescents of both genders were selected to fill out a survey about child sexual abuse.
Results   The prevalence of child sexual abuse was 18.7% ( n  = 200). It was more frequent in girls (58%) than in boys (42%). Sexual abuse involved physical contact in 75% of those cases reporting abuse. The aggressors were neighbours (50.3%), relatives (36.8%) and strangers (13.9%). Abuse was committed through deception in 90% of the cases and involved physical mistreatment in 10% of the cases. Of the victims, 14.4% had spoken about the problem and 3.7% had taken legal action. And 9.6% of those surveyed stated that they required psychological counselling.
Conclusions   In the population studied, the prevalency of child sexual abuse was greater than that reported in Mexico City (4.3–8.4%), although it was similar to that found in the Spanish child population (15–23%). The risk of sexual abuse is greater for girls and the principal aggressors are male neighbours, family friends and relatives; the abuse is committed in the home of the aggressor or the victim and very few cases are reported to the authorities.     

广州市青少年性相关行为发生情况分析

目的 了解广州市青少年性相关行为现况,为制定干预措施提供科学依据.方法 采用“中国青少年健康相关行为调查问卷”,对分层整群随机抽取的广州市66所大中学校11939名学生进行问卷调查.结果 15.22％的中学生看过色情书籍和音像制品,农村(16.46％)高于城市(14.44％);男生(25.07％)高于女生(6.23％);职中生最高(25.41％),普通中学(13.93％)高于重点中学(10.71％),差异均有统计学意义(P值均＜0.01).在看过色情书籍、音像制品的学生中,曾发生性行为率高达22.35％.在高中、职中学生中,35.82％曾单独约会异性朋友,34.95％有亲密行为,7.26％曾经发生过性行为,2.10％学生有被迫性行为,73.97％从学校接受过有关艾滋病知识教育,63.44％知道艾滋病病原体是病毒,31.76％对艾滋病感染者持正确态度.8.87％大学生有过性行为,使用安全套的比例占68.52％.结论 广州市青少年性相关行为频发但预防教育不足,要加强对青少年性观念及行为的正确引导.     

Correlates of identity statuses among Chinese adolescents in Hong Kong

This study investigates correlates of Hong Kong Chinese adolescents' identity statuses with (i) parental and school contexts and (ii) major psychosocial developmental outcomes. Data were collected from 1260 Secondary 2-4 (equivalent to Grades 8-10 in the US school system) students through a questionnaire survey. Results of hierarchical regression analysis indicated that parental attributes of acceptance, values and goals, and psychological control, and school contextual factor of task orientations predicted identity achievement, whereas parents' acceptance, psychological and firm control, and teacher's support predicted identity foreclosure. Regarding the impact on psychosocial development, another series of regression analyses revealed that (i) identity achievement predicted low depression, high self-esteem, and high self-efficacy; (ii) moratorium predicted low self-esteem; and (iii) foreclosure predicted high self-efficacy. Overall, the findings shed light on adolescent identity development in Hong Kong, facilitating discussions on identity-related issues.     

Prevalence and correlates of condom use at last sexual intercourse among in-school adolescents in urban areas of Uganda

OBJECTIVES: Correct and consistent condom use remains an important public health intervention against the spread of Human Immunodeficiency Virus and other sexually transmitted infections. There is paucity of information on sexual behaviour of in-school adolescents in Uganda. We, therefore, used secondary data of the Uganda Global School-based Health Survey (UGSHS) conducted in 2003 to determine the prevalence and correlates of condom use at last sexual intercourse in urban areas of Uganda. METHODS: A two-stage cluster sampling technique was used to obtain a representative sample. Altogether 1709 students participated in the survey in urban areas of whom 179 (14.9% of males, and 7.9% of females) had sexual intercourse within 12 months before the survey. RESULTS: Overall 77.3% (79.7% of male, and 72.3% of female) adolescents used a condom at last sexual intercourse. Adolescents who drank alcohol and used drugs were 64% (OR = 1.64, 95% CI 1.54, 1.75) and 68%, (OR = 1.68, 95% CI 1.56, 1.81) more likely to have used a condom, respectively. Meanwhile, adolescents who ever got drunk, and who reported to ever had 2 or more sex partners were 55% (OR = 0.45, 95% CI 0.42, 0.48) and 35% (OR = 0.65, 95% CI 0.62, 0.68) less likely to have used a condom compared to those who had never got drunk, and who ever had 1 sex partner, respectively. Finally, adolescents who reported receiving no parental supervision were 45% (OR = 0.55, 95% CI 0.53, 0.58) less likely to have used a condom compared to those who reported receiving parental supervision. CONCLUSIONS: Parental supervision may be effective in promoting condom use among adolescents. Furthermore, drinking alcohol was associated with condom use probably due to peer pressure and easy access of condoms in drinking places as condoms are not actively promoted in schools. There is need for further research on how in-school adolescents could access condoms.     

Prevalence and socio-economic correlates of smoking among lone mothers in Australia

OBJECTIVE: To report smoking prevalence among Australian lone mothers by age and socio-economic group and to examine the extent to which the difference in smoking prevalence between lone mothers and other women is due to socio-economic factors. METHODS: This was a secondary analysis of data from the 1995 National Health Survey (NHS), which was conducted by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). Information was collected from 53,800 respondents using face-to-face interviews. This analysis was limited to single mothers (n=1,184) who had at least one dependent child aged under 15. The outcome measure was smoking status, distinguishing regular smokers from occasional smokers, ex-smokers and never-smokers. RESULTS: The overall smoking prevalence among lone mothers was 46.3% (Cl 43.5%-49.1%). Lone mothers who were younger, less educated, received government pension/benefits, occupied rental housing or who lived in more disadvantaged areas were more likely to smoke than others. A strong 'lone mother effect' remained after controlling for socio-economic variables. The odds of smoking for lone mothers were 2.4 times greater than for married mothers (95% Cl 2.0-2.9) and twice as large as those for women living alone (95% CI 1.62.4). CONCLUSION: As the prevalence for this population group is considerably higher than the prevalence for other women within each age category, programs to assist lone mothers to quit smoking are a priority for the long-term health of these women and their children. Furthermore, we discuss how policies and interventions that enhance the material conditions and social circumstances of lone mothers can bring about a decline in their smoking prevalence.     

Timing of pubertal maturation and heterosexual behavior among Hong Kong Chinese adolescents

This study presents a cross-sectional examination of the independent contribution of pubertal maturation timing to heterosexual activity among Chinese adolescents. A standardized self-administered questionnaire was designed to obtain information on a spectrum of physical heterosexual behaviors from dating to sexual intercourse, age at first nocturnal ejaculation in boys, age at menarche in girls, and several psychosocial variables that might be associated with sexual behavior in adolescents. A total of 4,116 students aged from 14 to 18 years (2,175 boys and 1,941 girls) were recruited in the Youth Sexuality Survey of the Hong Kong Family Planning Association in 1996–97. When groups were defined as early, average, and late maturers, among boys, early maturers were youngest to report dating and to have sexual intercourse, followed by average and late maturers. Among girls, late maturers were slower to date and have sexual intercourse, but early maturers showed no difference from average maturers. Age of maturation was significantly lower for those reporting all heterosexual behaviors for both sexes. Our findings illustrate culture's moderation of the expression of biological differences.     

Prevalence and correlates of highly caffeinated beverage consumption among Korean adolescents

ObjectivesThe purposes of this study were to (1) examine the multi-year prevalence of highly caffeinated beverage (HCB) consumption, (2) identify sex differences in the prevalence, and (3) investigate relationships between HCB consumption and behavioral characteristics in a nationally representative sample of Korean adolescents.MethodsData from the Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey (2014–2017) were analyzed.ResultsHCB consumption was higher in 2017 than 2014 (23.9% vs. 12.0%), and higher among boys than girls (17.2% vs. 13.1%). HCB drinkers were more likely to (1) be boys, (2) be overweight or obese, (3) use alcohol and tobacco, (4) consume soda at least once per week, (5) consume sweetened beverages at least once per week, (6) have seriously considered suicide during the past 12 months, and (7) have attempted suicide during the past 12 months (p<0.05 for all).ConclusionEffective programs to curb HCB consumption among Korean adolescents need to be established.     

Disordered eating and its psychosocial correlates among chinese adolescent females in Hong Kong

Objectives: To study the prevalence of disordered eating and its relationship with body dissatisfaction, family dysfunction, and depression among Chinese adolescent females in Hong Kong. Method: Two hundred ninety-four schoolgirls completed a demographic and weight history sheet, Eating Attitudes Test-26, Body Dissatisfaction Scale, cohesion and conflict subscales of the Family Environment Scale, and the Beck Depression Inventory. Results: 6.5% of subjects were EAT-26 high scorers. Disordered eating was positively predicted by body dissatisfaction and, to a lesser extent, family cohesion and conflict. Body dissatisfaction was in turn positively predicted by depression, which was negatively predicted by family cohesion. Discussion: Western patterns of body dissatisfaction and disordered eating attitudes are common among Chinese adolescent females. In the presence of psychosocial vulnerability factors, more weight control behavior and eating disorders may be expected to arise in Hong Kong. © 1996 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

Prevalence of influenza vaccination and associated factors among pregnant women in Hong Kong

A total of 568 pregnant women in Hong Kong were interviewed. Of them, 85.4% had heard of influenza vaccine, 21.3% had ever been vaccinated, 3.9% self-reported receiving influenza vaccination (IV) in the 2005/2006 flu season, and 33% were inclined toward receiving IV in the coming year. Multivariate analysis showed that those who had been recommended by health care professionals to receive IV during pregnancy were more likely than others to have received IV. Other variables related to the Health Belief Model were significantly associated with having ever been vaccinated or inclined toward receiving IV in the coming year.