Correlates of Healthy Lifestyle Behaviors in Hispanic Teens

Purpose: The purpose of this study is to describe the relationships between household income, cognitive factors for living a healthy lifestyle, mental health indices, and physical activity in low socioeconomic, predominantly Hispanic teens.

Background and significance: The prevention and treatment of overweight/obesity and mental health disorders in adolescents is a major public health problem in the United States today.  There is a disproportionate prevalence of obesity and mental health disorders in low SES, Hispanic adolescents.  Cognitive Theory, the guiding framework for this research, is based on the premise that one’s thoughts affect one’s feelings and behaviors.

Methods:  A descriptive correlational design was used on preliminary baseline data from a school-based randomized-controlled trial.  Descriptive statistics and Pearson’s r correlations were conducted to identify sample characteristics and relationships between variables.

Results:  The mean age of the teens was 14.6 years and 55.2% of the sample was female.  Significant relationships were identified between variables including : (1) income and self reported healthy lifestyle behaviors, self concept, and perceived difficulty in living a healthy lifestyle, (2) beliefs in living a healthy lifestyle and perceived difficulty in living a healthy lifestyle, healthy lifestyle behaviors, self concept and mental health indices, (3) healthy lifestyle behaviors and mental health indices, and (4) physical activity and beliefs in living a healthy lifestyle, healthy lifestyle behaviors, and self concept.

Implications:  These findings support the theoretical premise that what one thinks affects their feelings and behaviors.  Interventions in this population that promote physical and mental health by cognitive skill building techniques may lead to increased healthy lifestyle outcomes.