title: Relative importance of individual and social factors in improving adolescent health.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  In 2010, the English Department of Health launched a radical new public health strategy, which sees individual factors, such as self-esteem, as the key to improving all aspects of young people's health. This article compares the strength of association between key adolescent health outcomes and a range of individual and social factors
  
  
  METHODS
  All participants aged 12-15 in the nationally representative 2008 Healthy Foundations survey were included. Six individual factors related to self-esteem, confidence and personal responsibility, and seven social factors related to family, peers, school and local area were investigated. Single-factor and multivariable logistic regression models were used to calculate the association between these factors and seven health outcomes (self-reported general health, physical activity, healthy eating, weight, smoking, alcohol intake, illicit drug use). Odds ratios were adjusted for gender, age and deprivation.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Individual factors such as self-esteem were associated with general health, physical activity and healthy eating. However, the influence of family, peers, school and local community appear to be equally important for these outcomes and more important for smoking, drug use and healthy weight.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Self-esteem interventions alone are unlikely to be successful in improving adolescent health, particularly in tackling obesity and reducing substance misuse.
authors: UCL Institute of Child Health, London. WC1N 3EH, UK. d.hargreaves@ucl.ac.uk
authors: Dougal S
authors: DS
authors: Hargreaves
authors: Dominic
authors: D
authors: McVey
authors: Agnes
authors: A
authors: Nairn
authors: Russell M
authors: RM
authors: Viner
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000294:Adolescent Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D002648:Child; D016001:Confidence Intervals; D004739:England; D005260:Female; D006293:Health Promotion; D006304:Health Status; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D016017:Odds Ratio; D012931:Social Environment; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires