Abstract

PONS, Diana et al. Qualitative study of health behaviours in the first adolescence. rev.latinoam.psicol. [online]. 2010, vol.42, n.2, pp.237-250. ISSN 0120-0534.

The goal of the current qualitative case study is multiple: (1) to know what young people thought at the beginning of adolescence with regard to health related behaviours; (2) to explore if they followed these behaviours; (3) to find out what their motives were for following them; and (4) to detect their future predictions with regard to those behaviours. Eight boys and eight girls between the ages of 11 and 12 years-old participated in two discussion groups (one for boys and one for girls). Each session lasted one hour. The transcriptions of these discussions were analyzed by three researchers and were codified using the computer programme, Nudist Vivo, version 2.0.163. The main topics identified were the "classical" health behaviours, the contexts where the behaviours took place, and the health-related behavioural patterns. The relationships among these three topics indicated that there were differences between girls and boys, specifically on what it meant to be healthy, their current behaviours, and their predicted future behaviours.

Keywords : qualitative study; health behaviours; adolescence; discussion groups.

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