Family Factors Associated with Novel Influenza A (H1N1) Preventive Health Behaviors

Background: The recent Influenza A (H1N1) pandemic has been a source of serious public health and social concern. Children have been confirmed to be especially vulnerable and are ranked among the most at-risk populations. Due to the critical role of child-parent bonding in promoting children's health, this study aims to explore the effects of child-parent bonding on preventive behavior against H1N1 infection among children.

Methods: Cross sectional data were collected from the entire 6th grade class (N=2,323) and their parents (N=2,089) from 11 elementary schools randomly selected from 11 school districts in the Seoul Metropolitan Area of South Korea. Questionnaires were used to assess participants' knowledge of and attitude towards Influenza A (H1N1) infection, and to investigate any preventive behaviors practiced against H1N1. Multiple regression analyses were used to estimate the association between family factors and H1N1 preventive behavior.

Findings: Multiple regression analysis revealed that the interaction effect of both parental employment and child-parent bonding was significant in predicting a child's health behaviors such as hand washing (t=2.80, p=.005) after controlling for socioeconomic, H1N1 knowledge-related, and attitudinal variables.

Discussion: This finding suggests that family bonding plays an important role in promoting appropriate health behaviors by children. Parent-child bonding was positively associated with children's hand washing, while children with two working parents showed less increase in hand washing. To promote and maximize children's health behaviors, special policy and intervention efforts need to be directed at children with two working parents.