Gender Difference in the Impact of Family Factors on Adolescents Health Lifestyle Developmental Patterns: A Life Course Perspective

Background: Health behaviors tend to occur in cluster and typically established during adolescence, and family environment plays a central role in shaping behaviors. However, previous studies have not explicitly focused on the underlying health lifestyle trajectory patterns and the shared family factors that give rise to clustering of behaviors. This study investigates how parenting in different life span affects the health lifestyle patterns in adolescence and compares the gender difference.

Methods: Data was obtained from the Child and Adolescent Behaviors in Long-term Evolution (CABLE) project. Participants included 2415 students (4th grade in 2001, 51.51% male) followed from the 2001 to 2009 in Taiwan. Twelve behavior indicators measuring health lifestyle patterns came from four variables (eating vegetable/fruit every day, physical activity 3 times a week, non-smoking, non-drinking), which repeatedly measured at three time-points of 2007-2009. Longitudinal latent class analysis (LLCA) and multinomial logistic model were used to identify adolescent health lifestyle trajectory patterns and the associated family factors in late childhood and adolescence.  

Result: Different health lifestyle trajectory patterns were found in boys (BIC=2229.43) and girls (BIC=1622.51), 4 patterns in boys and 5 in girls. Posterior class membership probability (0.79- 0.94) and item probability suggested quite distinctive classes with good fitting.SES and parental marriage status show significant effect on adolescent lifestyle patterns. Both in boys and girls, parental supervision and parental involvement in childhood and early adolescent stage were positively associated with health lifestyle. Effect of parenting factors became relatively stronger in early adolescent stage. In boys, higher psychological control during early adolescence significantly associated with increased risk of unhealthy lifestyle pattern. The effect SES and parental marriage status were partially mediates by parental supervision.

Conclusion: As hypothesized, parenting significantly affected adolescent health lifestyle. Early life experience has impact on behaviors outcome in later life, and there was evidence of differences in boys and girls. Furthermore, parenting factors may accumulate gradually over child and adolescence stage. Targeting the underlying lifestyle and associated identities may be more effective than focusing on a single behavior. Policy should be considered to build a supportive environment.