High School Students Residing in Educational Public Institutions: Health-Risk Behaviors

Abstract

Although several health-risk behaviors of adolescents have been described in the literature, data of high school students who reside at educational institutions in developing countries are scarce. This study aimed to describe behaviors associated with health risks among high school students who reside at an educational public institution and to associate these variables with the length of stay at the institution. This cross-sectional study was conducted during the year 2015 and included 122 students aged 14–19 years at a federal educational institution in the Midwest of Brazil; students were divided into residents of <8 months and those of >20 months. Information concerning the family socioeconomic status and anthropometric, dietary and behavioral profiles was investigated. Despite being physically active, students exhibited risk-associated behaviors such as cigarette and alcohol use and risky sexual behaviors that were exacerbated by fragile socioeconomic conditions and distance from family. A longer time in residence at the institution was associated with an older age (p ≤ 0.001), adequate body mass index (BMI; p = 0.02), nutritional knowledge (p = 0.01), and less doses of alcohol consumption (p ≤ 0.01) compared with those with shorter times in residence. In conclusion, the students exhibited different health-risk behaviors, and a longer institutional residence time, compared with a shorter time, was found to associate with the reduction of health-risk behaviors.

Health-risk behavior differences between boarding and non-resident students: Brazilian adolescent National School Health Survey

“…Specifically, 11.3% of boarding students reported drinking on at least 10 days during the last month, and 20.5% reported getting drunk at least three or more times in their lifetime. This result corroborates prior data from a study that evaluated adolescents in high school [12] and those transitioning from high school to college [22]. Although it is important to highlight that in Brazil, the sale of alcoholic drinks is prohibited to those under 18 years old, the students have substantial access to these products [32,33], just like elsewhere in the world [34].…”

“…Healthrisk conditions may be increased by inequalities, which are intensified in socioeconomically weak environments [2,[9][10][11]. Related to this, students' living conditions (i.e., school residency environments) can also influence risky health behaviors [12][13][14][15][16].…”

“…Health studies with students residing in educational institutions (EI) are scarce [12,13,17,18]. Initial evidence suggests increased alcohol consumption, tobacco and marijuana use, risky sexual behaviors, sedentarism, and poor eating habits among students in residential housing [16,[19][20][21].…”

“…The present study focuses on address the dearth of studies on health-risk behaviors among students residing in EIs within developing Latin American countries, and covered risky sexual behavior and substance use. Only one study with a small, non-representative sample has assessed health behavior risks among adolescents residing in an EI within Latin America [12]. The study revealed that resident Brazilian students reported high levels of unhealthy behaviors, including cigarette smoking, alcohol use, and risky sexual behaviors, which were aggravated by fragile socioeconomic conditions.…”

Relação entre estado nutricional e conhecimento sobre alimentação adequada e saudável de escolares

“…As altas taxas de sobrepeso e obesidade em países desenvolvidos giram em torno de 31,8% entre crianças e adolescentes (OGDEN et al, 2014). Um estudo brasileiro demonstrou que pouco mais da metade dos escolares avaliados apresentam conhecimento moderado a alto sobre hábitos alimentares, porém quando avaliados os hábitos esse público em sua maioria não apresenta hábitos saudáveis (NOLL et al, 2016).…”