Can we predict the health of teenagers 2 years in advance?: A preliminary study

Objective : A two year follow-up study of a cohort of adolescents on 9 health parameters. Method : 325 adolescents were enrolled in April 1999. In addition to answering a general social-demographic questionnaire, they answered Wallston's Multidimensional Locus of Control scale (MHLC) and Olson's questionnaire on family dynamics (FACES III). 10 health indicators were recorded : two analogical visual assessments (VAS) (general coping and feelings of well-being), their concern for their health on a five level Likert scale., Zung's Subjective Depression Scale, and having had to repeat a school year as an indirect indicator of self esteem. Two years later, the sample (n = 86) were re-evaluated through the same questionnaires, and answered a supplementary questionnaire addressing (1) additional medication taken since their initial evaluation, (2) the number of medical consultations they have been through since the baseline, and/or (3) hospitalisations they underwent. They also answered a VAS about their level of concern over their body. Results : Numerous variables belonging to Wallston's MHLC scale as well as to Olson's FACES III questionnaire were found to correlate with health indicators two years later. It proved to also be the case for both several << subjective >> values such as general coping and feelings of well-being, and being concerned with one's health, and with more << objective >> parameters such as subjects' scores on the "Subjective Depression Feelings" form, or their intake of additional medications. Conclusion : It appears that it is may possible to predict two years in advance at-risk adolescents for whom preventive medicine is particularly necessary.