Patterns of health-risk behavior among Japanese high school students

This study explored patterns of health-risk behaviors among Japanese high s chool students and examined if a cluster and an accumulation of health-risk behaviors existed. Self-administered questionnaires were employed in 1999 using a sample of 1,466 students (male 50.5%, female 49.5%) in grades 10 th rough 12 at seven public senior high schools in Okinawa, Japan. Health-risk behaviors studied included cigarette smoking, alcohol use, thinner use, no nuse of seat belts, suicide ideation, sexual intercourse, weight loss pract ices. and physical inactivity. Among male and female students, cigarette sm oking, alcohol use, and sexual intercourse clustered Accumulation of these risk behaviors also occurred because the observed proportion was greater th an the expected proportion assuming independent occurrence. Vocational high school students and upper graders were strongly associated with accumulati on of health risk behaviors. These findings identify a high-risk target gro up among Japanese adolescents and suggest that preventive intervention stra tegies should take into consideration the cluster and accumulation of healt h-risk behaviors.