Household income and spiritual well-being but not body mass index as determinants of poor self-rated health among African American adolescents

Psychometric Properties of the Chinese Revision of the Pitt Wellness Scale for People in the University Environment

Background

The number of students enrolled in higher education in China accounts for more than one-fifth of the world, and universities, as a community of faculty, staff and scholars, currently do not have a scale that specifically assesses the well-being of the population in the environment of Chinese universities. However, the University of Pittsburgh has developed a comprehensive well-being scale, referred to as the Pitt Wellness Scale, specifically to measure people's well-being in a university environment.

Aims

Investigate the psychometric properties of the Pitt Wellness Scale in Chinese university environmental samples.

Methods

The original scale was culturally adapted and modified through expert consultation, a random sample of 1870 current faculty, staff, and students were selected for the questionnaire survey. Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) were used to investigate the potential factor structure of the Chinese Revision of the Pitt Wellness Scale and to measure its reliability and validity. Finally, the factors that affect people's well-being in the Chinese university environment were explored.

Results

The Chinese Revision of the Pitt Wellness Scale retained 30 items, and the EFA supports a five-factor structure, which differed from the results of the original scale, and the CFA results showed that the model fitted well. The discriminant validity of the modified Chinese scale was excellent. The overall Omega coefficient of the scale was 0.958, and the reliability of the retest after 4 weeks was 0.821.

Conclusion

The Chinese Revision of the Pitt Wellness Scale possesses satisfactory psychometric properties, and it can be considered an instrument for assessing personal well-being in Chinese university environment.

The role of mental health, academic stress, academic achievement, and physical activity on self-rated health among adolescents in Iran: A multilevel analysis

BACKGROUND

Health promotion of adolescents requires appropriate evidences of its determinants. The aim of this study was to investigate predictors of self-rated health (SRH) among adolescents in Qazvin, Iran.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

In this descriptive cross-sectional study, with a multistage sampling method, we recruited 1740 adolescents aged 12-19 years from 53 schools in Qazvin, Iran (2018). We used the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire and Adolescents' Academic Stress Questionnaire for data collection. The analysis was conducted using a multilevel logistic regression model. Gender, educational period, and socioeconomic status were considered as confounders.

RESULTS

Almost 21% of the adolescents reported their SRH suboptimal. Suboptimal SRH was higher in girls and older adolescents. Mental health disorders and academic stress had a positive association with SRH. However, this association was negative for academic achievement and physical activity. The interaction between mental health disorders and academic stress with SRH had a significant association in a crud regression model.

CONCLUSION

Mental health, academic stress, academic achievement, and physical activity were important predictors for SRH. Interventions that focus on promoting mental health, academic stress, academic achievement, and physical activity such as physical activity for 1 h and each day for 3 days per week can improve SRH in adolescents. Hence, policymakers should pay more attention to this issue in health promotion programs of adolescents.

Spirituality but not Religiosity Is Associated with Better Health and Higher Life Satisfaction among Adolescents

Careful conceptualization and differentiation of both spirituality and religiosity is a necessary precondition for understanding the potential role they play in health, whether physical or mental. The aim of this study was to explore the associations of spirituality with self-rated health, health complaints, and life satisfaction of adolescents with the moderating role of religiosity. Data from the Health Behaviour in School-aged Children study conducted in 2014 in Slovakia were used. The final sample consisted of 658 adolescents (mean age = 15.37; 50.6% boys). Data regarding spirituality, religiosity, self-rated health, health complaints, and life satisfaction were obtained. Binary logistic models revealed spirituality to be associated with self-rated health, health complaints, and life satisfaction. A moderating role of religiosity was not confirmed. The presented findings indicate the need to distinguish between the concepts of religiosity and spirituality in connection with subjective health and life satisfaction.

An Examination of Self-Rated Health Among African-American Men

Self-rated health is a concept that has been linked to objective health outcomes but has not received much attention with regard to African-American men. The purpose of this study is to examine the relation of multiple factors (sociodemographic, health behaviors, personal health measures, and personality traits) with self-rated health in a sample of African-American men. The role personality plays in self-rated health in combination with other variables among African-American males has not thoroughly been explored. One hundred and seventy African-American men, ages 30-70 years old, were recruited for this study and completed a questionnaire assessing self-rated health, sociodemographics, health behaviors, personal health measures, and personality traits. Block-wise regression modeling was employed. The blocks were sociodemographics, health behaviors, personal health measures, and personality traits. Variables significantly associated with self-rated health in block-wise regression analyses at P < .05 (household income, BMI, number of health conditions, and neuroticism) were entered into the final multiple logistic regression model. Being obese was associated with greater odds of poor/fair self-rated health compared to being normal weight (OR = 9.02, 95 % CI 2.85-28.51, P < .001). Compared to reporting no health conditions, having more than one health condition was associated with greater odds of reporting poor/fair self-rated health (OR = 4.82, 95 % CI 1.18-19.69, P = .029). This study shows that existing medical conditions are important determinants of self-rated health among African-American men.

A cohort study evaluating the implications of biology, weight status and socioeconomic level on global self-esteem competence among female African-American adolescents

The link between obesity and self-esteem among minority youth has received minimal empirical evaluation. This study aims to describe the magnitude of risk that body mass index, household income, and transitional age have on global self-esteem levels among African-American adolescents. These analyses were conducted on cross-sectional data obtained from 264 urban-dwelling African-American females between 14 and 18 years of age. Survey data on global self-esteem levels, transitory age, and socioeconomic levels were collected using self-administered questionnaires. Measured height and weight values were used to calculate and categorize weight status according to body mass index. Logistic regression models examined the probability of reporting less than average levels of global self-esteem. Adolescent African-American females residing in low-income households were 10 times more likely to report lower global self-esteem scores than those individuals from more affluent households (95% CI: 1.94, 60.19, p < .001). Neither weight status (95% CI: 0.81, 2.55; p = .26) nor age (95% CI: 0.05, 1.87; p = .82) were significant risk indicators for lower than average levels of global self-esteem among participants in this study. Household income appears to be the greatest predictor of global self-esteem levels. Further research in this area is needed to fully elucidate precursors for psychological health vulnerability and facilitate intervention development.