Youth: Choices and Change

Published by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), the focus of this publication is how to create opportunities leading to positive and sustained behaviour change and to the conscious adoption by youth of lifelong health-promoting lifestyles.

Publisher's Description:
"This publication on adolescent health and positive behavior change ... enhances the knowledge base on this important public health issue. It presents the firstever systematic collection and reporting of the application of behavioral change theories and models specifically to adolescents. At the same time, it represents the first attempt to incorporate a developmental perspective in the conceptual analysis of these classical theoretical constructs when applied to the various stages of adolescence.

Cultural, ethnic, and gender differences are also given special consideration, as is the role of poverty and the ability of some adolescents to secure physical and emotional well-being despite circumstances of adversity.

This book additionally breaks new ground in explaining why some health promotion interventions aimed at positive adolescent behavior change produce the desired results, while others fail. The thoroughness of the analysis extends to the diversity of geographical settings cited: from Africa to the United States, Canada to Jamaica, Brazil to the Netherlands, El Salvador to Japan, and India to Mexico, to name only a few.

The experiences of the global research community presented here will undoubtedly find fertile ground among a variety of publics, including local health promoters, designers of community health promotion programs, health professionals, the academic and research community, ministries of public health and of youth affairs, those who study and those who create mass media trends, parents and teachers, school counselors, and all others who play a significant role in adolescents’ lives."

The Foreword and Introductory pages are available for free download in PDF format. The complete book can be purchased from PAHO.

The Table of Contents includes the following:

Preface

The Authors/ Acknowledgments

Foreword Paving the Way from Adolescence to a Healthy Adulthood Introduction Healthy Choices and Changes

SECTION ONE DEVELOPING EFFECTIVE HEALTH PROMOTION AND PREVENTION PROGRAMS FOR ADOLESCENTS

Introduction

Chapter One Adolescent Lifestyles in Latin America and the Caribbean: The Challenges and Their Scope

Chapter Two The Knowledge-Behavior Gap in Health Promotion

Chapter Three The Importance of Behavior Theories to Successful Adolescent Health Programs

Chapter Four Adolescents Living in a Complex Environment of Multiple Levels of Influence

Chapter Five Listening to Adolescents' Needs and Wants: A Respectful Intervention

Chapter Six The Crucial Link between Theories and Developmental Stages of Adolescence

Chapter Seven The Youth: Choices and Change Model for Designing Effective Interventions for Adolescents

SECTION TWO THEORIES AND MODELS FOR HEALTH PROMOTION AND BEHAVIOR CHANGE: THEIR APPLICATION TO ADOLESCENT

Theories and Models that Promote Change at the Individual Level

Chapter Eight The Health Belief Model

Chapter Nine The Transtheoretical Model and Stages of Change

Chapter Ten The Theory of Reasoned Action

Chapter Eleven The Theory of Planned Behavior

Chapter Twelve The Goal-Setting Theory/

Chapter Thirteen The Self-Regulation Theory

Chapter Fourteen The Sensation-Seeking Theory

Chapter Fifteen At a Glance: The Individual Level Theories and Models for Behavior Change

Theories and Models that Promote Change at the Interpersonal Level

Chapter Sixteen The Social Cognitive Theory

Chapter Seventeen The Social Networks and Social Support Theories

Chapter Eighteen The Authoritative Parenting Model

Chapter Nineteen The Resilience Theory

Chapter Twenty The Stress and Coping Theories

Chapter Twenty-one At a Glance: The Interpersonal Level Theories and Models for Behavior Change

Theories and Models that Promote Change at the Community Level

Chapter Twenty-two The Community Organization Models

Chapter Twenty-three The Diffusion of Innovations Theory, Behavior Change Communication Models, and Social Marketing - Models that Promote Change at the Policy Level

Chapter Twenty-four Models of Policy and Legislation Developmen

Chapter Twenty-five At a Glance: The Community and Policy Level Theories and Models for Behavior Change

SECTION THREE ADOLESCENT DEVELOPMENTAL CHANGES AND GOALS: THE IMPORTANCE OF EARLY INTERVENTION

Introduction

Chapter Twenty-six A New Approach to Classifying Adolescent Developmental Stages

Chapter Twenty-seven Gender Differences and Adolescent Behaviors

Chapter Twenty-eight Early Intervention during Adolescence: The Preadolescent Period

Chapter Twenty-nine Early Intervention during Adolescence: The Early Adolescent Period

SECTION FOUR CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS

Introduction

Chapter Thirty The Next Decade: Perspectives for Improving Adolescent Health and Development Afterword References

Selected List of Web Resources on Adolescence and Health Behaviors