Abstract
Among the factors affecting adolescent health behaviors, coping mechanisms have a significant effect on decisions regarding health behaviors. In the frame of coping mechanisms, rational ways tend to go together with beneficial, whereas emotion-oriented ones tend to go together with unfavorable health behaviors. Social copig strategies, on the other hand, are well known to help develop health conscious behaviors. In our study, we analyzed adolescent health behaviors in the light of two social coping mechanisms, namely, the rational, emotional defensiveness (R/ED) scale and the need for harmony, altruism (NH/A) scale, developed by Spielberger. The data collection was going on among high school students living in Békés and Csongrád counties (aged between 14-21 years) by using a self-administered questionnaire (N = 548). Research findings support the role of coping mechanisms in relation to adolescent health behaviors; the rational ways of coping help prevent health risk behaviors, furthermore, the need for harmony as a coping, in addition to help prevent substance use, has a beneficial influence on health promoting behaviors.
Translated title of the contribution | Adolescent health behavior in the light of two social coping mechanisms |
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Original language | Hungarian |
Pages (from-to) | 203-214 |
Number of pages | 12 |
Journal | Magyar Pszichologiai Szemle |
Volume | 62 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Jun 2007 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Adolescence
- Coping
- Health behaviors