Health, health-compromising behavior, risk-taking behavior and sexuality in female and male high school students in vocational compared with theoretical programs in sweden.

The aim of the present study was to determine whether adolescents attending vocational high school programs in Sweden show unhealthy or risky behaviors to a higher extent than those attending theoretical programs, and whether there were gender differences. METHODS: All eligible adolescents 16-18 years old, after exclusion of first- and second-generation immigrants, attending high school (1,332 pupils) in a medium-sized town in Sweden completed a validated in-depth questionnaire (Q90) with 165 questions in the classroom. In comparisons, adjustments were made for socio-demographic variables. RESULTS: A significant difference was found for the variable having at least one parent with university education (odds ratio (OR 0.28) for those attending vocational programs). In girls: have bullied (OR 2.01), eat breakfast all school days (OR 0.31), have shoplifted (OR 3.46), smoking (OR 5.69), and have had more than five sexual partners (OR 4.74) all differed significantly. Some variables with significant differences in boys were; eat fruit or vegetables every day (OR 0.55), feeling depressed (OR 0.62), sports activity at least once a week (OR 0.56), vandalizing (OR 2.11), regular alcohol use (OR 1.44), and contraceptive use at latest sexual intercourse (OR 0.47). CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that preventive interventional strategies, aimed at improving health maintenance among adolescents should take into consideration the differences between students in vocational and theoretical programs, including the cluster and accumulation of health-risk behaviors.