Health promoting behaviors in Iranian girl adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic

Adolescents are among one of the most vulnerable populations, and the COVID-19 pandemic has led to rapid and unprecedented changes in the lives of millions of adolescents around the world. The present study aimed to evaluate the health-promoting behaviors among female Iranian adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic.

In this descriptive-analytical study, 529 female students from Saveh, Iran high schools were selected by multi-stage sampling and participated in the study. Data were collected using the Demographic Information and Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile (HPLPII). Data were analyzed using ANOVA and independent t-test in SPSS 21.

The results showed that the mean and standard deviation of the health-promoting behavior score was moderate (89.3±11.2). Among the dimensions of HPLPII, the highest scores were related to health responsibility, nutrition, physical activity and stress management. There were significant differences in mean scores across numerous health-promoting behavior domains and father’s occupation status, mother’s education level, hobby type and participants academic status.

Moderate overall mean score of health-promoting behaviors and low mean scores across stress management and physical activity domains suggest that female youth are in need of resources to improve health behaviors, particularly during the ongoing pandemic. It is recommended that interventions to improve health-promoting behavior among female adolescents are adapted and implemented within the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.