Back to Annual Meeting Page		American Public Health Association 133rd Annual Meeting & Exposition December 10-14, 2005 Philadelphia, PA

Abstract #107948

Nicole Angresano, MPH¹, Susan K. Riesch, DNSc RN FAAN², Janie Canty-Mitchell, PhD RN³, Deborah L. Johnson, MSN, RN⁴, Lori S. Anderson, MS RN⁵, and Kerada Krainuwat, MS⁵. (1) Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1500 Highland Ave. Room 528, Madison, WI 53705-2280, 608-263-5895, niangresano@wisc.edu, (2) Nursing and Waisman Center, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 1500 Highland Ave. Room 569, Madison, WI 53705-2280, (3) College of Nursing, Health Sciences Center, University of South Florida, 12901 Bruce B. Downs Blvd, MDC 22, Tampa, FL 33612, (4) Department of Environments for Health, Indiana University School of Nursing, 1111 Middle Dr, NU 459, Indianapolis, IN 46202, (5) School of Nursing, University of Wisconsin-Madison, 600 Highland Ave., Madison, WI 53792

Health-risk behaviors are defined by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention as: activities that contribute to unintentional injuries, intentional injuries and violence, tobacco use, alcohol and other drug use, sexual behavior, dietary practices, and physical activity. Engaging in these behaviors remains a significant threat to individual and public health. The purpose of this paper is to report the prevalence of health risk behaviors among a sample of 5th grade students in two midwestern cities. Seventy-nine participants were boys and 78 were girls in the 5th grade, who described their health as excellent or good, had a mean age of 12.4 years, and were African American or Euro American. The 21-item Children's Health Risk Behavior Scale (CHRBS) was used for data collection. Youth were recruited through public schools. Youth completed the CHRBS using a handheld Personal Date Assistant during in-home interviews. Risk for unintentional injuries occurred because youth rarely wore bicycle or skateboard helmets and seatbelts. Risk for intentional injuries occurred because you reported physical fighting and considering suicide. Almost none of the youth had used cigarette or chewing tobacco, alcohol, marijuana, inhalants, or other drugs. About one third of the youth had ‘gone out with, kissed, or held hands with a boy/girl friend.' Nearly one-fourth of the youth reported they tried to lose weight very fast, but nearly all exercised regularly. Youth averaged 9.47 hours of sleep per night (SD = 1.28). We conclude that the period prior to the transition to middle school presents the best opportunity for youth health risk behavior prevention.

Learning Objectives:

• Define the categories of health risk behaviors monitored by the CDC,
• Analyze the health risk behavior practices of sample of 5th grade students

Keywords: Children and Adolescents, Risk Behavior

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

I wish to disclose that I have NO financial interests or other relationship with the manufactures of commercial products, suppliers of commercial services or commercial supporters.

Recorded presentation