Cluster of health-risk behaviors in adolescents in Liuzhou city

Objective To investigate the cluster pattern of health risk behaviors among college and middle school students in Liuzhou city of Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region.Methods Totally 3 720 students from colleges and middle schools in Liuzhou city were selected with stratified cluster sampling and surveyed with a questionnaire to collect information on 12 health risk behaviors.The data of male and female students were analyzed separately with cluster analysis.Results Five distinct groups were identified for both female and male:lowrisk group(34.79% of male and 38.59% of female),moderate risk groups(group 2:19.37% of male and 25.65% of female,group 3:27.38% of male and 18.03% of female),higher risk group(9.56% of male and 10.60% of female),and the highest risk group(8.91% of male and 7.13% of female).The rate of bicycle ride violation was the highest in group 2 of moderate risk group for both male and female.The rate of physical fight was the highest in higher risk group for male and the rate of anxiety was the highest for female.Smoking was a singnal behavior of the highest risk group.Conclusion The comprehensive measures of intervention should be sensitive to the unique needs of female and male adolescents.More specific prevention measure based on particular behavior or combinations of behaviors may be more effective.