Influence of health risk behavior and socio-economic status on health of Slovak adolescents

Aim. To investigate the role of health risk behavior, such as smoking and alcohol consumption, in the explanation of socio-economic health differences among adolescents. The hypothesis of different exposure and the hypothesis of different vulnerability were explored. Method. In the study carried out in 1998, the prevalence of health complaints of smokers vs non-smokers, alcohol consumers vs abstainers, and among different socio-economic groups of 2,616 Slovak adolescents (mean age, 14.9 +/- 0.62 years) were investigated by means of self-reported questionnaires. The adolescents were stratified... Mehr ...