Abstract

Adolescent females perceive themselves to be healthy but research suggests this population engages in unhealthy and risky behaviors. Health habits established during youth transition into adulthood and may contribute to chronic diseases later in life. Guided by Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory (SCT), the purpose of this study was to test the effect of a comprehensive wellness intervention on overall wellness, physical fitness, and self-efficacy for health promoting behaviors in female adolescents. A multidisciplinary concept analysis of shame suggested components of shame can impact environment, personal factors, and behavior, the key concepts of SCT. An intervention based on SCT and titled Total Girl Wellness Program was developed. The 12-week program includes interactive modules that address wellness, obesity prevention, healthy relationships, and avoiding risky behaviors. An experimental design was used to test the effect of the Total Girl Wellness Program in a sample of 153 adolescent females enrolled in physical education. Independent sample t-tests revealed significant (p < .01) improvement in the scores of the essential-self wellness subscale and the health promotion self-efficacy subscale. Although physical fitness was not significantly improved, the intervention was well-received by participants and school personnel. Findings from this study suggest adolescent females can learn wellness skills that may impact future health behaviors and wellness.

Date of publication

Spring 5-8-2012

Document Type

Dissertation

Language

english

Persistent identifier

http://hdl.handle.net/10950/88

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Nursing Commons

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