Adolescents' health status: sex differences among whites and nonwhites.
This study was designed to determine differences in health between sexes in white and nonwhite adolescents. The data are from the Health Examination Survey's large national sample of 12-17-year-olds. Comparisons are made between males and females for whites and non-whites of their scores on scales constituting different but complementary views of their health. Thus, there were scales of items from (a) a clinical study of each subject, (b) interviews with parents about past and present health, and (c) questionnaires from the youths themselves. To these was added a single rating from a school official on the youth's adjustment at school. Three important findings emerged: (1) the health of white adolescent females was somewhat poorer than that of white males; (2) the health of nonwhite females was poorer than the other three sex-race groups; and (3) the correlation of youths' own rating of their health with estimates from others' including clinicians, showed females to be somewhat more accurate than males.
D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006262:Health; D006304:Health Status; D006306:Health Surveys; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009017:Morbidity; D009026:Mortality; D044469:Racial Groups; D012737:Sex Factors; D014481:United States