TY - JOUR
T1 - Structure of health risk behavior among high school students
AU - Basen-Engquist, Karen
AU - Edmundson, Elizabeth W.
AU - Parcel, Guy S.
N1 - Copyright:
Copyright 2018 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 1996/8
Y1 - 1996/8
N2 - The authors test the contention of R. Jessor's (1977) problem behavior theory that adolescent hearth risk behaviors comprise a single behavioral syndrome. Multidimensional scaling (MDS) and cluster analysis are used to analyze data from a statewide survey of high school students' (n = 5,537) health risk behaviors. A classical MDS analysis was calculated to test the dimensionality of the behaviors. All indicators supported a multidimensional model. An individual-differences MDS (INDSCAL) analysis revealed that a 4- dimensional solution best fit the data, with gender and racial-ethnic differences emerging in the relative salience of the dimensions. The INDSCAL dimensional coordinates for each health risk behavior were then submitted to a hierarchical cluster analysis technique. Five behavioral clusters were identified, 1 of which included many of the traditional 'problem behaviors,' such as smoking, unprotected sexual intercourse, and alcohol consumption. These findings support a multidimensional structure underlying adolescent health risk behavior. Implications for theory and prevention of health risk behaviors are discussed.
AB - The authors test the contention of R. Jessor's (1977) problem behavior theory that adolescent hearth risk behaviors comprise a single behavioral syndrome. Multidimensional scaling (MDS) and cluster analysis are used to analyze data from a statewide survey of high school students' (n = 5,537) health risk behaviors. A classical MDS analysis was calculated to test the dimensionality of the behaviors. All indicators supported a multidimensional model. An individual-differences MDS (INDSCAL) analysis revealed that a 4- dimensional solution best fit the data, with gender and racial-ethnic differences emerging in the relative salience of the dimensions. The INDSCAL dimensional coordinates for each health risk behavior were then submitted to a hierarchical cluster analysis technique. Five behavioral clusters were identified, 1 of which included many of the traditional 'problem behaviors,' such as smoking, unprotected sexual intercourse, and alcohol consumption. These findings support a multidimensional structure underlying adolescent health risk behavior. Implications for theory and prevention of health risk behaviors are discussed.
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U2 - 10.1037/0022-006X.64.4.764
DO - 10.1037/0022-006X.64.4.764
M3 - Article
C2 - 8803367
AN - SCOPUS:0029790801
SN - 0022-006X
VL - 64
SP - 764
EP - 775
JO - Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology
JF - Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology
IS - 4
ER -