title: An exploration of health counseling and goal attainment scaling in health education programs.
abstract: This paper presents findings of an experimental study to test the effects of health counseling with seventh and eighth grade students (N = 32). Goal attainment scaling was used to monitor changes in health behavior during a 10-week period with each student meeting with a health counselor five times during the study. A pretest/posttest, repeated measures design with experimental and control groups was used to evaluate the influence of health counseling. The results revealed a significant increase in goal attainment scaling scores (F = 4.96). Health behaviors influenced were exercise and nutrition. There also was a significant increase in self-esteem (F = 8.42) and home-esteem (F = 4.24). The utilization of health counseling appears to be an attractive educational strategy to enhance the effectiveness of classroom instruction.
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior; D001521:Behavior Therapy; D003376:Counseling; D006040:Goals; D006266:Health Education; D006801:Humans; D008019:Life Style; D012649:Self Concept; D013334:Students