| A sample of ninety-three subjects, forty-seven from south Taiwan and forty-six from north Taiwan, were randomly selected to investigate the health beliefs and health behaviors of teenagers living in south and north Taiwan. A self-developed health beliefs and health behaviors questionnaire was the major instrument. Seven variables related to health beliefs and six variables related to health behaviors were then evaluated based on the survey results. The Chi-square test was applied to identify any significant difference between subjects from south and north Taiwan.;As for health behaviors, it was found that the south teenagers had significant difference from their northern counterparts in terms of experience of violence and physical activities. In addition, most of teenagers in Taiwan: (1) have not had the experience of smoking, drinking, using drugs, and/or chewing betel nuts; (2) have not had a sexual experience; (3) frequently eat unhealthy foods; and (4) sometimes visit unsafe places, such as MTV/KTV or Electrical Games Centers.;Possible social, economic, cultural, and psychological reasons for these findings are presented as well as the implications for education, governmental policy, and community involvement.;It was found that although most of subjects have a normal family and live with their parents, south teenagers presented a significant difference in family background than their northern counterparts. However, no significant difference was found on the other variables related to health beliefs. Furthermore, teenagers in Taiwan: (1) have a negative philosophy of life; (2) believe they have an insufficient amount of leisure activities. (3) hold a negative viewpoint of value; (4) hold a negative attitude to school education; (5) prefer to confide their feelings to friends or classmates; and (6) disagree with the piety toward parents. |
