A Study on the Correlation between Health Behaviours of Adolescents and Social Factors

청소년의 건강행위와 사회적 요인간 상관관계 분석

The aim of this study is to find out the correlations between heaith behaviours of young people and the relationships with social factors, which can be helpful for the development of health promotion programmes for youths. The main socializing arenas influencing children's development of health and health behaviour are school, peers and parents. In this study, the selected social factors are based on these arenas. And the following seven health-related behaviours were selected: smoking, drinking alcohol, drinking coffee, irregularity of taking main meals, regular exercise, brushing teeth, and use of medicine for nourishment or restoratives. These health behaviours categorized into two groups; health- promotiong and health-damaging behaviours. The results were summarized as follows; Significant positive correlations were found between health damaging behaviours-drinking alcohol, coffee, smoking, irregularity of main meals, drinking alcohol. But, No consistently significant correlations were revealed among health promoting behaviours and between health promoting and health damaging behaviours. If total group were devided into four groups by gender and grade, these correlations were a little weak. Although such division, the correlations among health damaging behaviours were still significant. The result is also found that health behavious and various social factors were strongly correlated. Particulary, health damaging behaviours showed a consistent correlation with social factors. This consiatensy was simillar to the figure of other contries in Europe. In conclusion, a more comprehensive explanation on health behaviour bacame possible if the analysis on the correlations were made by dividing health behavious into "health-promotion" and "health- damaging". And the health promotion programmes can be more effective when they focus on the correlation of health behavious and inter-relationships between health behavious and various social factors, rahter than focus on individual behavious.