Beyond the "Model Minority" Stereotype: Trends in Health Risk Behaviors Among Asian/Pacific Islander High School Students

BACKGROUND: Asian/Pacific Islander (API) students have been stereotyped as the "model minority." The objective of this study was to examine the trends in health risk behaviors among API students who participated in the San Diego City Schools Youth Risk Behavior Survey (YRBS) between 1993 and 2005.
METHODS: High school students from the San Diego City School District completed the self-administered YRBS between 1993 and 2005. Among sexually active students, logistic regression for survey data was used to examine trends in health risk behaviors.
RESULTS: From 1993 to 2005, condom use at last sexual intercourse was consistently lower among API students than their cross-ethnic peers. We observed a significant increasing trend in lifetime smoking, drinking, and marijuana use. Parental communications regarding human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) were significantly less frequent and decreased over time.
CONCLUSIONS: Our findings challenge the notion of API youth being the "model minority." API students face unique challenges, including barriers to good communication about sex and lower rates of condom use. School-based prevention programs are needed for API students, including a focus on HIV communication with parents.     

Bullying and Symptoms of Depression in Chilean Middle School Students

BACKGROUND:  The goal of this study was to assess the association between bullying and symptoms of depression among middle school students in Chile.
METHODS:  Secondary data analysis of Chile's 2004 Global School-Based Health Survey.
RESULTS:  A total of 8131 middle school students participated in the study. Forty-seven percent of students reported having been bullied in the past month and 30% reported having been sad and hopeless for 2 or more weeks in the past year. Students in the seventh and eighth grades were more likely to report having been bullied in the past month than students in ninth grade. Ninth grade students reported higher levels of loneliness, difficulty sleeping, and suicidal thoughts than students in the seventh and eighth grades. Boys were more likely than girls to report being bullied in the past month, but girls were more likely than boys to report symptoms of depression, such as prolonged feelings of sadness and hopelessness, loneliness, difficulty sleeping, and suicidal thoughts. Students who reported being bullied in the past month were more likely than nonbullied students to report symptoms of depression. A higher number of days of being bullied in the past month was associated with a statistically significant increase in reported rates of sadness and hopelessness (p < .001).
CONCLUSIONS:  Bullying is common among middle school children in Chile, and bullying and symptoms of depression are strongly linked. This finding is consistent with studies of bullying and depression in adolescents from other parts of the world.     

Racial, Ethnic, and Sex Differences in the Associations Between Violence and Self-Reported Health Among US High School Students

BACKGROUND:  Involvement in interpersonal violence or suicidal behaviors can have a significant impact on an adolescent's physical health. Similarly, previous research has suggested that lived experiences, more than the presence or absence of physical ailments, can significantly influence self-assessed health status among adolescents. The purpose of this study was to examine the cross-sectional associations between involvement in violence and poor or fair self-reported health among US high school students.
METHODS:  Data were obtained from the 2005 national Youth Risk Behavior Survey (n = 13,953). Logistic regression analyses were conducted to determine the associations between violence-related measures and self-reported health while controlling for demographic characteristics and potential confounders. Analyses are presented for students overall and stratified by sex and race/ethnicity.
RESULTS:  Overall, 7.2% of students reported fair or poor self-rated health. Having been in a physical fight, having been injured in a physical fight, having attempted suicide, and having not gone to school because of safety concerns were significantly associated with fair or poor self-rated health after controlling for demographic characteristics and other potential confounders. Differences associated with race/ethnicity and sex are identified.
CONCLUSIONS:  Four of the 5 violence-related measures included in these analyses were significantly associated with fair or poor self-rated health. Future studies should consider the impact of involvement in violent behaviors and perceptions of both physical and mental well-being.     

上海市某区青少年健康危险行为调查分析

目的 分析上海市某区青少年健康危险行为发生情况,为进一步于预提供依据.方法 采用单纯随机抽样方法,选取该区内初中、高中和职校各2所学校初一～高三年级共1 355名学生,其中初中592人,高中396人,职校367人,统一发放青少年健康相关行为调查问卷,采用Epi-data 3.0软件输入,使用SPSS 12.0软件进行统计分析.结果 调查发现,健康危险行为指标在初中、高中和职校生之间存在较大差异.职校生饮食行为、健康相关行为、伤害相关行为、吸烟相关行为以及游戏机和网络成瘾情况等指标均与初中、高中生有明显差异.其中职校生违规行为的比例明显高于初中生和高中生;在游戏机和网络成瘾情况调查中,职校生每天上网和玩游戏机超过4小时的比例明显高于初中、高中生;在上网活动内容中,职校生上网收发邮件、查阅学习资料的比例低于初中、高中生,而上网玩游戏、聊天的比例高于初中、高中生,经检验有统计学意义.结论 初中生、高中生及职校生由于存在年龄、学习层次不同的双重差异而在各项指标中存在明显差异.为了尽可能有效地实施干预工作,各项相关干预工作开展的愈早愈好.     

The Clustering of Risk Behaviors Among Caribbean Youth

Objective: To examine the relationships among risk behaviors for Caribbean youth; and to determine the correlations between initiation of sexual activity and other risk behaviors. Methods: The associations between cigarette smoking, alcohol and marijuana use, early initiation of sexual intercourse, involvement in violence and delinquency were examined using odds ratios on data from the Caribbean Youth Health Survey (n = 15,695). Survival analysis was then used to determine the association between initiation of sexual activity and the risk behaviors. Findings: There were statistically significant relationships between all pairs of risk behaviors for both male and female adolescents. Even though more males than females had engaged in each of the behaviors, the strengths of association were higher for females. From survival analysis, initiation of sexual activity was associated with gang involvement and weapon carrying among young adolescents and even more risk behaviors among the older adolescents. Conclusion: Health compromising behaviors cluster among Caribbean youth with associations being stronger for females. Initiating sexual activity was a predictor of other risk behaviors with the likelihood increasing among older adolescents and females.