Health behavior and subjective well-being among marginalized young Malaysians

Abstract

Youth marks the transition period from a child to an adult. During this period, youths are trying to “find” themselves, and identify where they stand in society. A smooth transition from childhood to adulthood is important for youths to ensure that their potential can be manifested to the fullest. A smooth transition would include youths keeping healthy and having an overall positive outlook on life. Therefore, this paper aimed to determine the health behavior and behaviorist associates among Malaysia youths. Specifically, this study aimed to identify the prevalence of health behavior and its correlates. A secondary outcome for this study was to explore the relationship between health behavior and well-being. In total, 3, 558 youths who live in marginalized areas and were aged 15–25 years participated in this study, being selected using stratified cluster sampling. Health behavior was measured using the Health Promotion Scale, well-being was measured using items developed from The Office for National Statistics, UK. This study found that Malaysian youths moderately practiced healthy behaviors (x̄ = 3.7, SD = 0.54), and reported moderate subjective well-being (x̄ = 3.63, SD = 0.59). This study found that both subjective well-being and health behavior were not significantly different between all demographic variables tested. Health behavior was found to be associated with wellbeing, where youths who reported higher practices of health-promoting behaviors also reported higher subjective well-being (OR = 0.52, 95% CI: 0.59–0.55). This study showed that strategies and policies in promoting youth well-being may be achieved through health-promoting campaigns.