title: Factors influencing health behaviors in the National Health and Nutritional Examination Survey, III (NHANES III).
abstract: This study investigated the influence of age, gender, race, place of residence, social networks, and socioeconomic status (SES) on health behaviors in the NHANES III, a large public domain database of approximately 16,000 subjects. Multiple regression analysis indicated that age, gender, social networks, and SES were statistically significant predictors of both positive and negative health behaviors, while race and place of residence were not. These results suggest an influence of age, gender, SES, and social support factors on health behaviors and reinforce the need for social work to take into account these factors at both the individual and public policy levels.
authors.affiliation: Department of Social Work, University of Virginia Medical Center, 1215 Lee Street, Charlottesville, VA 22903, USA. gsb9b@virginia.edu
authors.forename: Geoffrey S
authors.initials: GS
authors.lastname: Barkley
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D016208:Databases, Factual; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D012044:Regression Analysis; D012737:Sex Factors; D012923:Social Class; D012944:Social Support; D014481:United States