Contributing Factors in Adolescents’ Mental Well-Being—The Role of Socioeconomic Status, Social Support, and Health Behavior

Mental disorders are common in adolescents, and for effective interventions we should be aware of their determinants. However, there are only a small number of studies investigating the combined effect of multiple factors. Therefore, our aim is to assess the impact of socioeconomic status, social su...

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Main Authors: Gabriella Nagy-Pénzes, Ferenc Vincze, Éva Bíró
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2020-11-01
Series:Sustainability
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/22/9597
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spelling doaj-4530db97d74f46e9bf07ba83b00f20982020-11-25T04:11:13ZengMDPI AGSustainability2071-10502020-11-01129597959710.3390/su12229597Contributing Factors in Adolescents’ Mental Well-Being—The Role of Socioeconomic Status, Social Support, and Health BehaviorGabriella Nagy-Pénzes0Ferenc Vincze1Éva Bíró2Department of Public Health and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, Doctoral School of Health Sciences, University of Debrecen, 26. Kassai Street, 4028 Debrecen, HungaryDepartment of Public Health and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, 26. Kassai Street, 4028 Debrecen, HungaryDepartment of Public Health and Epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Debrecen, 26. Kassai Street, 4028 Debrecen, HungaryMental disorders are common in adolescents, and for effective interventions we should be aware of their determinants. However, there are only a small number of studies investigating the combined effect of multiple factors. Therefore, our aim is to assess the impact of socioeconomic status, social support, and health behavior on adolescents’ mental well-being. A cross-sectional health survey of 1641 children was carried out in accordance with the study protocol of the Hungarian Health Behavior in School-aged Children survey. Multivariate multiple regression was used to analyze the main determinants of mental well-being. The boys’ mental well-being was favorable compared to girls; lower subjective family wealth was associated with lower life satisfaction and depressive mood. Life satisfaction was positively related to healthy eating, social support, and physical activity. Unhealthy eating, sedentary lifestyle, and lower social support were associated with higher depression scores. Higher social support reduces psychosomatic symptoms, while unhealthy eating and spending a lot of time in front of the computer increase them. Both social support and healthy lifestyle seem to be protective against mental health problems among adolescents, and thus interventions should focus on these factors regardless of the socioeconomic status of the participants, with special attention given to girls.https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/22/9597adolescentsmental well-beingsocioeconomic statussocial supporthealth behavior
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Gabriella Nagy-Pénzes
Ferenc Vincze
Éva Bíró
spellingShingle Gabriella Nagy-Pénzes
Ferenc Vincze
Éva Bíró
Contributing Factors in Adolescents’ Mental Well-Being—The Role of Socioeconomic Status, Social Support, and Health Behavior
Sustainability
adolescents
mental well-being
socioeconomic status
social support
health behavior
author_facet Gabriella Nagy-Pénzes
Ferenc Vincze
Éva Bíró
author_sort Gabriella Nagy-Pénzes
title Contributing Factors in Adolescents’ Mental Well-Being—The Role of Socioeconomic Status, Social Support, and Health Behavior
title_short Contributing Factors in Adolescents’ Mental Well-Being—The Role of Socioeconomic Status, Social Support, and Health Behavior
title_full Contributing Factors in Adolescents’ Mental Well-Being—The Role of Socioeconomic Status, Social Support, and Health Behavior
title_fullStr Contributing Factors in Adolescents’ Mental Well-Being—The Role of Socioeconomic Status, Social Support, and Health Behavior
title_full_unstemmed Contributing Factors in Adolescents’ Mental Well-Being—The Role of Socioeconomic Status, Social Support, and Health Behavior
title_sort contributing factors in adolescents’ mental well-being—the role of socioeconomic status, social support, and health behavior
publisher MDPI AG
series Sustainability
issn 2071-1050
publishDate 2020-11-01
description Mental disorders are common in adolescents, and for effective interventions we should be aware of their determinants. However, there are only a small number of studies investigating the combined effect of multiple factors. Therefore, our aim is to assess the impact of socioeconomic status, social support, and health behavior on adolescents’ mental well-being. A cross-sectional health survey of 1641 children was carried out in accordance with the study protocol of the Hungarian Health Behavior in School-aged Children survey. Multivariate multiple regression was used to analyze the main determinants of mental well-being. The boys’ mental well-being was favorable compared to girls; lower subjective family wealth was associated with lower life satisfaction and depressive mood. Life satisfaction was positively related to healthy eating, social support, and physical activity. Unhealthy eating, sedentary lifestyle, and lower social support were associated with higher depression scores. Higher social support reduces psychosomatic symptoms, while unhealthy eating and spending a lot of time in front of the computer increase them. Both social support and healthy lifestyle seem to be protective against mental health problems among adolescents, and thus interventions should focus on these factors regardless of the socioeconomic status of the participants, with special attention given to girls.
topic adolescents
mental well-being
socioeconomic status
social support
health behavior
url https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/12/22/9597
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