Preventing youth problem behaviors and enhancing physical health by promoting core competencies.

摘要

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of the present study was to investigate the longitudinal relations between specific core competencies, problem behaviors, and physical health among adolescents. METHODS: The study used two waves of data collected 1 year apart from the Add Health data set. The Add Health data set is a nationally representative sample of adolescents in grades 7 to 12. A total of 14,010 respondents were included in this study. There were two outcomes that were examined in this study: problem behavior (as observed by seven different behaviors), and health (general health and physical problems). RESULTS: We found that problem behavior and health outcomes were two distinct behavioral patterns that were related to one another. The two outcomes also shared common developmental predictors. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings suggest that a focus on core competencies is an important target for preventive interventions; among the competencies measured low self-control was the strongest single predictor of problem behaviors and adverse health outcomes.