• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.43 no.5
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• pp.403-410
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• 2010

Objectives: A web-based survey has been administered annually since 2005 throughout Korea to assess the prevalence of adolescent health risk behaviors among middle and high school students. The aim of this study was to evaluate the test-retest reliability of the Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey (KYRBWS) questionnaire. Methods: A convenience sample of 2298 middle and high school students participated in self-administered questionnaire surveys twice, approximately two weeks apart, in 2008. The percent agreement, kappa statistics, and prevalence rates at the first and second surveys were computed for the core subset of 39 self-reported health risk behavior indices of the KYRBWS. Results: Among 39 indices, seven indices had kappas $\geq$ 0.81 and all of the indices had kappas $\geq$ 0.41. Based on nonoverlapping 95% confidence intervals, three indices had significantly different prevalence rates between the first and second surveys. In the subgroup analyses by school grade and gender, two indices had significantly different reliability estimates between middle and high school students. There were no significantly different reliability estimates between male and female students, except for one index. Conclusions: This study demonstrated that the reliability estimates for the KYRBWS questionnaire are varied, but generally reliable over time. The indices with low reliability estimates need to be evaluated further in order to determine whether the indices should be modified or deleted from future versions of the KYRBWS.

• Journal of the Korean Society of School Health
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• v.27 no.3
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• pp.121-129
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• 2014

Purpose: The purpose of this study were to compare general characteristic of high school girls according to menarcheal age and to investigate the factors associated with the menarcheal age of high school girls. Methods: This study utilized the data of the 2013 Korean Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey (KYRBWS). The sample included 18,077 high school girls who experienced menarche. The questionnaires used for this study assessed menacheal age, grade, place of residence, family affluence, height, weight, diet pattern, physical activity, sleep duration, and stress level. Data was analyzed using the complex sample analysis (${\chi}^2$-test, ANOVA and multiple regression analysis). Results: Higher BMI, frequent vegetable consumption, short sleep duration, and higher stress level were associated with an earlier menarcheal age among high school girls. Conclusion: The findings of this study indicate intervention strategies to control the timing of menarche.

• International Journal of Human Ecology
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• v.12 no.2
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• pp.13-24
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• 2011

This study compared actual weight with perceived weight, described the prevalence of unhealthy weight control behavior, determined the differences in psychological and personal variables between participants that reported unhealthy weight control behavior and those who did not, and examined the relationship of eating habits to unhealthy weight control behavior for Korean adolescents. The study population consisted of a nationally representative sample of middle and high school students who completed the Fifth Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey (KYRBWS): Fifth in 2009. Among the 75,066 participants of KYRBWS, 35,473 (n = 18,851 girls and 16,622 boys) were eligible for a research focused on unhealthy weight control behavior. The results of this research were as follows: First, there were considerable discrepancies (45.1% of girls and 32.8% of boys) between the perceived weight and the actual weight. Second, overall, unhealthy weight control behavior was more prevalent in girls and fasting was the most commonly reported behavior. Third, participants that reported unhealthy weight control behavior scored significantly lower on scaled measures of happiness, health, academic achievement, and economic status; in addition, they scored higher on stress measures. Fourth, girls and boys shared common protective factors of having breakfast and vegetables more often, perceiving their weight as underweight rather than overweight, and having a correct weight conception. Protective factors unique to girls were having lunch and dinner more often. Girls and boys shared common risk factors of the consumption of soda, fast food, instant noodles, and snacks more often, while consumption of fruit more often was a risk factor only for girls. The improvement of protective factors and minimization of risk factors through Home Economics classes (and other classes relevant to health) may mitigate unhealthy weight control behavior of adolescents.

• Korean Journal of Community Nutrition
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.226-242
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• 2012

Consumption of foods with high energy and low nutrient values has been linked to various health issues including obesity and chronic diseases. This study investigated the high-energy/low-nutrient food consumption status and its relationship with obesity status and intake of energy and nutrients, using the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES) and the Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey (KYRBWS). The prevalence of overweight and obesity among 2-18 year-olds was 8.4% and 10.8% in 2008 and 8.5% and 9.0% in 2009, respectively, in KNHANES. The prevalence of obesity among 12-18 year-olds was 13.9% in 2008 and 11.4% in 2009 in KNHANES, while it was 8.1% in 2008 and 8.2% in 2009 in KYRBWS. Consumption patterns of high-energy/low-nutrient foods were diverse depending on the particular food type. High-energy/low-nutrient foods such as cookies were most often consumed more frequently (2~3 times per week), but fast food type foods were generally consumed less frequently (once per week or less). No significant relationships between highenergy/ low-nutrient food consumption and level of energy and nutrient intakes were found in either datasets. Adolescents who were not obese more frequently consumed ramen (p < 0.001), cookies (p < 0.001) and fast food (p < 0.001) than those who were obese in KYRBWS, however, such relationships were not found in KNHANES. This direction of the relationship could be probably attributed to the cross-sectional nature of the datasets. This study was limited by the cross-sectional nature of the data, therefore, further longitudinal research using various study techniques would be necessary to understand the effects of high-energy/low-nutrient foods on child obesity.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.9 no.4
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• pp.411-419
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• 2015

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: This study analyzed factors affecting consumption frequencies of vegetables and fruits in Korean adolescents. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Consumption frequencies of vegetables and fruits, general characteristics, meal, health, and other variables were analyzed for a total of 147,047 adolescents who participated in the KYRBWS (Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey) conducted in 2006 and 2011 by the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. RESULTS: Consumption frequencies of vegetables and fruits more than once a day significantly decreased in 2011 compared to 2006 based on Chi-square test conducted for every factor employed in the study. Analysis of factors showed that consumption frequencies of vegetables and fruits were reduced in both study years as subjective income decreased, whereas intake frequencies increased with mother's education level and reduction of adolescent stress level. CONCLUSIONS: In general, consumption frequencies of vegetables and fruits decreased in 2011 compared to those in 2006. Thus, future research needs to improve dietary guidelines for nutrition education in order for students to recognize the importance of food consumption and necessity of increasing daily serving sizes of vegetables and fruits for their balanced consumption.

• Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health
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• v.44 no.4
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• pp.176-184
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• 2011

Objectives: Understanding recent trends in cigarette smoking among adolescents is important in order to develop strategies to prevent cigarette smoking. The aim of this study was to compare recent trends in cigarette smoking for adolescents living in rural areas, small towns and metropolitan cities in Korea. Methods: The raw data from the Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey (KYRBWS) from 2005 to 2009 were used. Data were analyzed by using the method of complex survey data analysis considering complex sampling design. Logistic regression models were used to evaluate significant linear time trends in cigarette smoking. The indicators of cigarette use behaviors were 'current smoking rate', 'frequent smoking rate', 'heavy smoking rate' and 'smoking experience rate before 13 years of age'. All analyses were conducted according to gender. Results: Statistically significant increasing trends in current smoking rate and frequent smoking rate were observed and borderline significant increasing trends in heavy smoking rate were shown among rural boys. Among metropolitan city boys, statistically significant increasing trends were also seen for frequent smoking. Statistically significant decreasing trends in current smoking rate were observed among small town and metropolitan city girls. Smoking experience rate before 13 years of age for rural girls decreased significantly. Conclusions: Cigarette smoking prevalence among adolescents in the rural areas has increased in the last five years especially among boys. Our findings suggest that anti-tobacco program for adolescents should be conducted primarily for those in rural areas.

• International Journal of Contents
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• v.13 no.2
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• pp.6-13
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• 2017

It is a well-known fact that Internet addiction adversely affects mental health of adolescents. This study was conducted to determine whether there is a difference in the experience of depression according to the level of Internet addiction. Participants included 73,238 middle and high school students from the Korean Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey (KYRBWS) conducted in 2010. The level of Internet addiction and the experience of depression were assessed using self-diagnosis questionnaires. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to identify the association between Internet addiction and depression. High-risk and potential-risk Internet users were 1.61 times and 1.21 times more likely to experience depression, respectively, than normal Internet users. The increase in depression was more significant in girls students. Acknowledging the connection between Internet addiction and depression, the problem should be tackled from the perspective of school health by providing systematic Internet addiction prevention and treatment programs.

• Anxiety and mood
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.21-27
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• 2018

Objective : The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between self-reported sleep duration and depression or suicidal ideation in Korean adolescents. Methods : The data obtained from the 11th Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-Based Survey (KYRBWS) were analysed. 68,043 students from 797 schools participated in this nationwide survey. Results : 53.7% of male students and 68.4% of female students had reported that a weekday sleeping duration of less than 6 hours. When the depression and suicidal ideation were analyzed by age, the odds ratio was higher in middle-school students than in high-school students. Both male and female students showed a higher risk of depression and suicidal ideation when sleeping duration was less than 5 hours and the risk was slightly higher in boys than in girls. Conclusion : Insufficient sleep duration in Korean adolescents increases depression and suicidal ideation, and these results differ according to age and gender.

• Korean Journal of Health Education and Promotion
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• v.31 no.3
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• pp.39-50
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• 2014

Objectives: The purpose of this study is to examine the factors for self-rated health by gender in South Korean adolescents. Methods: The population consisted of a nationally representative sample of adolescents(n= 37,414 boys, 37,522 girls) in middle and high school who completed the Korea Youth Risk Behavior Web-based Survey(KYRBWS) in 2011. Using logistic regression analysis, self-rated health was regressed on all predictors, including socioeconomic factors, behavioral and psychological factors. All analysis were conducted according to gender. Results: Girls showed more negative self rated health than boys (respectively 28.4%, 40.7%). Adolescent perceptions of health was associated with socioeconomic status, behavioral and psychological factors. Logistic regression analysis revealed that physical activity, body weight perception, despair, level of happiness and stress were the main influencing factors. Conclusions: The findings show that adolescent perceptions of their health are associated with overall sense of functioning, which are associated with health behaviors and psychological factors. Further interventions that focus on improving health behaviors and psychological health may make adolescents more healthy.

• The Journal of Korean Society for School & Community Health Education
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• v.20 no.3
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• pp.1-13
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• 2019

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to examine whether demographic and socio-economic characteristics, health behaviors and health status are related to academic achievement in Korean adolescents. Methods: Data from the 14th Korea Youth Risk Behaviors web-based Survey(KYRBWS) administered in 2018 were analyzed; 60,040 students in middle and high school participated in the survey. It was conducted frequency analysis, Rao-Scott chi-square test and multiple logistic regression analysis after adjusted for variables such as age, school grade. Results: The significant influencing factors on academic achievement were family economic status, living with parents, subjective health status, smoking experience, alcohol use experience, eating breakfast, sleeping, internet use during weekdays, depressive symptom(p<.001). The odds ratio for achieving higher academic achievement compared with those who never smoked was 1.50(p<.001). Conclusion: I found that students' undesirable health behaviors affect their academic performance. To improve academic achievement, I recommend intervention programmes such as school health promotion that reduce undesirable health related behaviors.