• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.17 no.7
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• pp.585-596
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• 2016

This study was designed to examine the relationships among the levels of perceived stress, dietary behaviors, physical exercise, drinking, smoking, and relief from fatigue through sleep which affect the subjective happiness in adolescents. Based on the study findings, this paper proposes the basic data required for offering practical solutions to improve the subjective happiness of adolescents. IBM SPSS 20 and AMOS 23 were used to conduct frequency and descriptive analyses, in conjunction with Pearson's correlation coefficients, the AMOS bootstrapping method and phantom variables, for the raw data obtained from the 9,599 participants included in the 11th Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey. Those factors having a direct effect on the subjective happiness of the adolescents were the level of perceived stress, relief from fatigue through sleep, physical exercise, dietary behavior and smoking. Perceived stress had an indirect effect on subjective happiness, and the analysis of the indirect effect and significance level of multiple mediators by means of phantom variables showed that, as well as perceived stress, relief from fatigue through sleep, physical exercise, dietary behaviors, and smoking also had indirect effects on subjective happiness. Consequently, a multidisciplinary approach is needed to optimize the subjective happiness in adolescents and financial support for environmental improvements is particularly necessary.

• Journal of dental hygiene science
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• v.13 no.4
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• pp.518-527
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• 2013

In 2011, South Korea's Ministry of Health and Welfare started a national tooth brushing room program without a pilot project. This study aimed to assess the effect of the implementation of this program in Gangneung, Korea. One-year outcomes of oral health behavior and self-reported oral symptoms in the study group after installation of the tooth brushing room were evaluated and compared with those of the control group using chi-square test. The prevalence rate of good self-rated oral health in grade 1-3 students increased from 35.7% immediately after installation to 48.9% after 6 months (p=0.031) compared to 37.3% in the control group (p=0.051). Immediately after installation of the tooth brushing room, 53.5% of grade 1-3 students in the study group brushed their teeth every day, but after 6 months, only 35.5% of students brushed daily (p<0.001) compared to 28.6% in the control group (p=0.007). The prevalence rate of bad breath in grade 1-3 students was 26.2% for the study group immediately after installation compared to 25.5% in the control group (p=0.065), but it declined 16.5% after 6 months (p=0.055). The prevalence rate of bad breath in grade 4~6 students was 14.7% for the study group after 6 months compared to 25.3% in the control group (p=0.016). We recommend the creation of a healthy school environment through a school-based tooth brushing program under the active supervision of classroom teachers and the continuous monitoring of program processes in order to promote children's oral health.

• The Journal of the Korea Contents Association
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• v.14 no.3
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• pp.259-268
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• 2014

The purpose of this study is to investigate correlation between experience of visiting the dentist and oral symptoms with 10,701 high school seniors in the research data of the 8th juvenile online health behavior carried out in 2012. The results of this research showed that the lower academic grades, the more tooth crack they experienced, and the lower economic conditions, the more toothache they tended to experience. The main reasons they visited the dentist were because their teeth ached, tingled or throbbed with pain. Scores of oral symptoms, sex, economic conditions and the number of experience of visiting the dentist were found to have a significant correlation. In order to improve high school students' dental health continually, we need to install the school dental health room and need to systemize continuous dental health care system for high school students, along with development of various school dental health education programs, by vitalizing prevention based school dental health education.

• Journal of the Korean Society of School Health
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• v.35 no.3
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• pp.123-132
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• 2022

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to identify factors related to hand washing practice among adolescents before and after the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: The study was conducted using data from the 15th~16th (2019~2020) Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey, and the subjects of the study were 57,303 and 54,948 people who participated in the 2019 and 2020 study, respectively. The data were analyzed with frequency test, rao-scott 𝑥² test and multiple logistic regression analysis using SPSS 27.0. Results: Changes in the hand washing practice rate were observed before and after the COVID-19 pandemic in all five behaviors; before eating in school, after using the toilet in school, before eating at home, after using the toilet at home, and after returning home. The study found that the hand washing practice rate increased by 1.21-2.43 times after the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition, as a result of logistic regression analysis, the hand washing practice rate before and after the COVID-19 pandemic was related to gender, region, school grade, school type, economic status, health status, and personal hygiene education experience. Conclusion: This study confirmed the importance of hand washing education to improve the hand washing practice rate in adolescents. It is necessary to develop and apply an effective youth hand washing education program in consideration of various variables that appeared as significant factors influencing the hand washing practice rate before and after the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Journal of agricultural medicine and community health
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• v.47 no.1
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• pp.14-26
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• 2022

Objectives: Handwashing is one of the most effective methods to prevent the spread of infectious diseases. This study assessed the related factors and reasons for not practicing handwashing at school among adolescents. Methods: We analyzed data collected from 57,303 adolescents who participated in the 15th Korea Youth Risk Behavior Survey 2019. Results: The proportions of not washing hands "before meals at school" and "after using the toilet at school" were 15.9% and 4.4%, respectively. The adjusted odds ratio for not washing hands before meals at school was significantly higher in girls (Odds Ratio [OR]=1.52, 95% Confidence Intervals [CI]=1.42-1.63), metropolitan city (OR=1.32, 95% CI=1.11-1.56), city (OR=1.29, 95% CI=1.08-1.54), higher grade, higher academic performance, lower economic status, not handwashing at home (OR=14.36, 95% CI=13.37-15.42), and without annual personal hygiene education (OR=1.41, 95% CI=1.33-1.49). Reasons for not washing hands at school among adolescents who do not wash their hands before meals at school included 'it is bothersome (52.3%)', 'there is no soap or hand sanitizer (13.8%)', and 'I do not feel the need (9.5%)'. Conclusions: Improving handwashing before meals at school among adolescents requires raising awareness of the importance of handwashing before meals and establishing a suitable environment and handwashing-encouraging culture.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.15 no.12
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• pp.7266-7276
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• 2014

This study examined the associations of physical activity by intensity with depression and suicidal thoughts among middle school students in South Korea. This study used data from the Survey of Korean Youth Health Risk Behavior. The samples were middle school students (Total 37,420). Logistic regression analysis were used. For depression, 33% of males and 43% of females felt depressed, whereas 17.8% of males and 27.7% of females experienced suicidal thoughts. In regression, both moderate physical activity and vigorous physical activity were associated significantly with a lower incidence of depression. In suicidal thoughts, moderate physical activity was associated with a lower incidence of suicidal thoughts among female students. In path analysis, vigorous physical activity had a direct and indirect effect on depression and suicidal thoughts. Physical activity is a potential mediator in decreasing depression and suicidal thoughts among middle school students.

• The Journal of Korean Society for School & Community Health Education
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• v.25 no.2
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• pp.27-44
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• 2024

Objectives: This study aimed to provide foundational data for preventing adolescents smoking by analyzing the relationship between adolescents' lifestyles and smoking experiences and identifying influencing factors. Methods: Secondary data analysis was conducted using the 17th (2021) Youth Health Behavior Survey data, encompassing 54,848 students from 796 schools. Variables included general characteristics, smoking status, lifestyle habits, physical activity, sleep patterns, and stress perception. Frequency analysis was used to examine general characteristics, while further analysis employed frequency analysis and the Pearson Chi-square test to compare lifestyle differences based on smoking presence. Multinomial logistic regression analysis was employed to determine factors influencing smoking experience, with IBM SPSS Statistics 28 used for all analyses at a significance level of p<.05. Results: Analysis revealed with general characteristics that the group with smoking experience exhibited a higher proportion of male students (67.4%) compared to the non-smoking group (50.1%) (p<.001). Analysis revealed that the smoking group was more likely to skip breakfast (27.7%), not consume fruit (17.8%), and consume fast food more than three times daily (0.9%). Furthermore, a higher percentage of smokers engaged in 60 minutes or more of breathless physical activity (8.4%) seven times a week, reported insufficient fatigue recovery through sleep (21.6%), and experienced very severe normal stress (17.2%) (p<.001). Analysis of the relationship between lifestyle and smoking indicated increased likelihood of smoking with zero breakfast consumption (OR=1.759, p<.001) and increased fruit consumption (OR=1.921, p<.001), while zero fast food consumption decreased smoking likelihood (OR=0.206, p<.001). Adequate sleep-related fatigue recovery reduced smoking likelihood (OR=0.458, p<.001), whereas increased stress elevated it (OR=1.260, p<.05). Conclusion: Adolescents' lifestyle habits significantly correlated with their smoking experiences, highlighting the necessity of considering lifestyle factors in smoking prevention strategies. This study provides crucial insights for promoting healthy lifestyle changes to prevent smoking among youth.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.38 no.4
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• pp.391-400
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• 2005

Objective : This study examined the socioeconomic differentials for the health and health related behaviors among South Korean middle school students. Methods : A nationwide cross-sectional interview survey of 3,449 middle school second-grade students and their parents was conducted using a stratified multi-stage cluster sampling method. The response rate was 93.3%. The socioeconomic position indicators were based on self-reported information from the students and their parents: parental education, father's occupational class, monthly family income, out-of-pocket expenditure for education, housing ownership, educational expectations, educational performance and the perceived economic hardships. The outcome variables that were measured were also based on the self-reported information from the students. The health measures included self-rated health conditions, psychological or mental problems, the feelings of loneliness at school, the overall satisfaction of life and the perceived level of stress. The health related behaviors included were smoking, alcohol drinking, sexual intercourse, violence, bullying and verbal and physical abuse by parents. Results : Socioeconomic differences for the health and health related behaviors were found among the eighth grade boys and girls of South Korea. However, the pattern varied with gender, the socioeconomic position indicators and the outcome measures. The prevalence rates of the overall dissatisfaction with life for both genders differed according to most of the eight socioeconomic position indicators. All the health measures were significantly different according to the perceived economic hardship. However, the socioeconomic differences in the self-rated health conditions and the psychosocial or mental problems were not clear. The students having higher socioeconomic position tended to be a perpetrator of bullying while those students with lower socioeconomic position were more likely to be a victim. Conclusions : The perceived economic hardships predicted the health status among the eighth graders of South Korea. The overall satisfaction of life was associated with the socioeconomic position indicators. Further research efforts are needed to explore the mechanisms on how and why the socioeconomic position affects the health and health related behaviors in this age group.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.192-204
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• 2022

Objectives: This study examined the association between dietary behaviors and perceived health status among Korean adolescents from multicultural families. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 2,459 Korean adolescents from multicultural families (aged 13 ~ 18 years) who participated in the 2017 ~ 2019 Korea Youth Risk Behavior Surveys. Information on the sociodemographic variables, dietary behaviors, and lifestyle variables was self-reported using a web-based questionnaire. The dietary behaviors analyzed in this study were the breakfast and food intake frequencies, including fruit, vegetable, milk, fast food, carbonated drink, sweet drink, and high caffeine/energy drinks. The adolescents' health perception was self-rated as healthy, average, or unhealthy. The dietary behaviors associated with health perception were examined using a multiple logistic regression after adjusting for the confounding variables. Results: In this study population, 7.6% of adolescents perceived their health status as unhealthy, and 25.4% perceived it as average. The adolescents who were girls, middle school students, and in households with a low economic status showed significantly higher percentages of poor health perception (P-values < 0.001). Skipping breakfast was significantly associated with a negative health perception. Compared to the adolescents who consumed fruits every day, those who did not consume fruits during the previous week showed a higher odd ratio (OR) for a negative health perception [OR = 2.29, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.32-3.97]. The adolescents who frequently consumed carbonated drinks (≥ 5 times/week) perceived their health status as unhealthy relative to those who did not consume carbonated drinks (OR = 2.15, 95% CI = 1.25-3.71). Skipping breakfast was significantly associated with an increased OR for a negative health perception in girls but not in boys. Compared to adolescents with a normal weight, those with overweight/obesity (OR = 1.75, 95% CI = 1.21-2.52) and underweight (OR = 2.19, 95% CI = 1.25-3.82) showed higher ORs for negative health perception. Positive associations of overweight/obesity and underweight with negative health perception were observed in boys but not in girls. Conclusions: Dietary behaviors and weight status were associated with the health perception in Korean adolescents from multicultural families. These findings suggest that nutrition interventions on breakfast intake and healthy food choices for this population might effectively improve their weight and perceived health status.

• Korean journal of health promotion
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.177-183
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• 2018

Background: Many studies have reported that adolescents living with single parent have a high risk of obesity. However, those studies did not explore the implication of the gender of single parent living with adolescents. This study investigated the differences in obesity rates according to status of co-residence with their parents in Korean adolescents. The family living with single parent was classified into the family living with single father and the family living with single mother. Methods: This cross-sectional study involved 59,602 adolescents who participated in the 2017 Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey. The data on height, weight, status of co-residence with parents, and the other variables were obtained through online questionnaires. Results: In male adolescents, the family living with single mother was related to a high proportion of obesity (odds ratio [OR] 1.24, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.09-1.40) and overweight (OR 1.17, 95% CI 1.03-1.34). However, in female adolescents, the family living with single father was related to a high proportion of obesity (OR 1.49, 95% CI 1.23-1.82). In addition, female adolescents living with neither parent were more likely to be obese (OR 1.47, 95% CI 1.13-1.91) and overweight (OR 1.31, 95% CI 1.00-1.70). Conclusions: This study showed a risk of obesity in adolescents living with single parent differs according to the gender of single parent living with adolescents. Not adolescents living with a same-gender parent, but those living with an opposite-gender parent have a high risk of obesity.