The Relationship Between Healthy Lifestyle Beliefs and Hygiene Behaviors of Adolescents During the COVID-19 Pandemic Process

Abstract

Aim. The research was carried out to determine the relationship between healthy lifestyle beliefs and hygiene behaviors of adolescents during the COVID 19 pandemic process. Materials. This descriptive-correlational research was carried out with 418 Turkish adolescents at the age of 13 to 18 years between March and August 2021. The data were collected online with a data collection tool, including a question form, the Healthy Lifestyle Belief Scale for Adolescents (HLBSA), and the Hygiene Behavior Scale (HBS). Percentage, mean, independent sample t-test, Mann-Whitney U-test, Kruskal-Wallis H test, Pearson correlation, and multiple regression analyses were used to analyze the data. Results. In the study, the variables of socioeconomic status, health perception, and knowledge of healthy living have shown a significant influence on the total HLBSA score; the variables of gender, maternal occupation, health perception and knowledge of healthy living have shown a significant impact on the total HBS score (p< 0.05). The total mean score of the HLBSA was 52.97 ± 19.71, and the total mean score of the HBS was 102.07 ± 23.02. There was a statistically significant relationship between the total HLBSA score and the total HBS score during the COVID-19 epidemic (p < 0.05). Conclusions. The study found that hygiene behaviors of adolescents during the pandemic process were good if their healthy lifestyle beliefs were good.