Psychosocial determinants of clustering health-compromising behaviors among Saudi male adolescents

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: To assess whether the clustering of six specific health-compromising behaviors, namely, low fruit consumption, high sweet consumption, infrequent tooth brushing, physical inactivity, fighting and smoking, varied by different psychosocial determinants such as life satisfaction, peer relationships, self-confidence, and future orientation among male adolescents in Saudi Arabia. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A representative stratified cluster random sample of 1335 Saudi Arabian male adolescents living in the city of Riyadh answered a questionnaire on health-related behaviors. Poisson regression models were constructed separately for younger (13-14-years-old) and older (17-19-years-old) adolescents to assess variations between explanatory psychosocial variables and the clustering of six health-compromising behaviors, adjusting for father's education. RESULTS: Older adolescents who perceived high levels of life satisfaction had a lower rate of clustering of multiple health-compromising behaviors compared to those reporting lower levels (RR: 1.22; 95%CI: 1.09–1.37), and the respective difference between those with high and those with middle levels of satisfaction was marginally non-significant (RR: 1.08; 95%CI: 0.98–1.19). Younger adolescents who reported that they felt “less than always” self-confident were more likely to have high clustering of health compromising behaviors compared to those who were always confident (RR: 1.08; 95%CI: 1.01–1.21). The clustering of multiple health-compromising behaviors was marginally associated with the frequency of evening meetings among older adolescents (RR: 1.03; 95%CI: 1.01–1.04 for each extra meeting), while the respective association among younger adolescents was marginally non-significant (RR: 1.02; 95%CI: 0.99–1.05). The association between clustering of health-compromising behaviors and future orientation was non-significant among both younger and older adolescents. CONCLUSIONS: Clustering of health-compromising behaviors was found to be associated with perceived life satisfaction and peer relationships among older male Saudi adolescents and with self-confidence among younger male Saudi adolescents in Riyadh.