The relationship between the behavior of students’ lifestyle profile and that of their parents

Abstract

There is evidence that parental support and behavior impact the healthy behavior of adolescents directly. The scope of this study is to identify the relationship between students’ Lifestyle Profile (LP) and that of their parents. Two hundred and eight students aged between 11 and 15 and their respective parents participated in the study. An instrument that included five components was used to evaluate the parents’ LP. These components included nutrition, physical activity, preventive behavior, relationships, and stress management. An instrument adapted for adolescents was used to evaluate the students’ LP. Descriptive statistics and the Chi-square test were used for the data analysis. Students, mothers and fathers showed positive behavior (PB) for the LP, but when the different components of lifestyle were stratified, an average score of the nutritional responses of students and parents was bordering on negative behavior (NB). The average number of mothers’ points in physical activity corresponded to NB. There were no significant relationships between parents’ and students’ LP, though in the physical activity component alone a significant relationship was found. The relationships established between the groups in the LP suggest that PB of the parents increases the chances of having children with PB.