Benjamin Fife and Renata Forste, Sociology Department

Introduction

The purpose of this study was to examine the association between physical and social factors and the frequency of headaches and stomachaches among school-aged children in the US. In particular, I looked at how both physical and psychosocial factors influence health outcomes in order to identify ways to decrease health risks among early adolescents.

Methodology

Data for this project come from the Health Behavior in School-Aged Children Survey (HBSC), 2005-06. This is a nationally representative sample of students in grades 6 to 10 in the United States. Data were collected by the US Department of Health and Human Services in collaboration with the World Health Organization. The total sample includes 9,063 students aged 11 to 17.

Students were asked how often in the past six months they have had headaches, or stomachaches. Responses to these questions were combined to create two dependent variables. First were those who have chronic headaches, which are those who experienced headaches at least weekly, and the same was done for identifying those who experience chronic stomachaches. The primary independent variables included were measures of psychosocial and physical factors. Using Stata, I prepared various multivariate analyses in order to determine significant factors.

Results

Of the physical variables, the decreased frequency of eating breakfast and increased amounts of drinking soda were extremely significant in predicting students with chronic headache and stomachaches. Dieting and smoking were also significant factors for increased headache frequency.

Multiple psychosocial factors were modeled, and of those the most significant factor was bullying. Those students who were bullied more also were more likely to have chronic headaches and chronic stomachaches. Also, those who reported experiencing increased negative feelings towards their body were more likely to report chronic stomachaches and headaches. Other factors that contributed to negative health outcomes were negative family relationships and experiencing pressure from school.

Discussion

As was found in all previous studies, female gender was the most significant variable when predicting those with both chronic headaches and stomachaches. In order to understand this relationship, I performed interactions with Stata using the same model to see if there were any gender differences in the other independent variables measured. There were some differences but none proved to be significant.

The literature also shows that affluence and race interacts with common factors that are associated with increased headache and stomachache frequency. After a preliminary follow up study, I found that race did have an interaction with the factors but will require further study to determine how impactful that interaction is.

My findings suggest first that adolescents that experience chronic headaches and stomachaches are effected by a variety of factors that contribute to their symptoms. Although they may not have obvious physiological factors, lifestyle choices and social environments contribute to this negative health outcome. Specifically those that have a poorer diet, those that eat breakfast less often and drink soda more often, are more at risk for experiencing these chronic systems. Potential interventions could include public health policies that help encourage proper diet and better assist children from disadvantaged backgrounds in their access of a healthy diet.

The psychosocial factors point out the effect of social environment and emotional health on the human body. This information can arm health care professionals in their approach to diagnosing and treating chronic headaches and stomachaches. By asking more probing questions they can identify if the symptoms in the young adolescents that they treat are being bullied or have a negative body image, or experiencing other psychosocial stressors.

Conclusion

This project was an extremely beneficial learning experience for me. I gained valuable critical thinking skills that allowed me to work through the sometimes tedious research process. My mentor provided valuable support and insight that made this project possible. I now have a better understanding of health and appreciate a more holistic approach to diagnosing and treating disease and illness.

I had the opportunity to present my preliminary findings at the Fulton Research Conference in April 2015. I spent the summer modifying my model to identify potential demographic characteristics that are more at risk. I will continue to refine my final model and I hope to submit my findings to a peer reviewed journal in order to publish what I have discovered.