The Predictive Role of Happiness, Optimism and Demographical Status in Engagement in Health-related Behaviors
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.22100/jkh.v8i1.39Keywords:
Healthy behavior, Happiness, Optimism, StudentAbstract
Introduction: With regard to the importance of life style for health promotion, this research aimed to investigate the predictive role of happiness, optimism and demographical status in engagement in health-related Behaviors for high school students in Semnan.
Methods: In a cross-sectional descriptive design, 217 (104 boys and 113 girls) high school students in Semnan were selected through a two-stage cluster sampling and completed the Demographical Information Questionnaire, The Oxford Happiness Inventory (OHI), Life Orientation Test-Revised (LOT-R) and The Adolescent Health Promotion Scale (AHP). Data analysis was performed through correlation and stepwise multiple regression with SPSS.
Results: Results showed that there was a significant positive correlation between happiness, optimism and socioeconomic status, and engagement in health-related behaviors (P<0.001). Happiness, optimism and socioeconomic status were significantly capable to predict the health-related behaviors of high school students (P<0.001) and totally explain 54% of engagement in health-related behaviors (R2 = 0.54). In this model, age and gender did not have significant roles in explaining the engagement in health-related behaviors (P>0/05).
Conclusion: Happiness, optimism and socioeconomic status are important for engagement in health-related behaviors by high school students. The principal implication of this research is set an agenda of intervention for improvement of these factors as an important foundation to engagement in health-related behaviors and health promotion of high school students.
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