ADOLESCENTS' USE OF HEALTH SERVICES (MEDICAL SOCIOLOGY)
Abstract
This study examines adolescents' use of health services from a sociological perspective. Adolescents are a social group whose use of health services has not previously been reported in the sociological literature. However, a sizeable and growing medical literature on adolescent health suggests that adolescents have unique health problems and health care needs. This study combines the medical and sociological perspectives using Andersen's (1968) behavioral model of health services use as a framework. Data for the study were collected from a survey of 2132 junior and senior high school students in a major metropolitan area. The content of the questionnaire was derived from previous studies of adolescent health and adults' use of health services. Two measures of use were analyzed: provider contact for a specific health problem and volume of visits. The contact measure was divided into contact for physical, sexual and emotional problems. The volume measure was divided into doctor visits and nurse and counselor visits. The independent variables included predisposing, enabling, need and lay consultation measures. Multiple regression was used to analyze the data. Parent consultation and seriousness of the problem were the strongest predictors of contact for all three health problems. Peer consultation affected contact for sexual problems only. The enabling variables were not predictive of contact. The effects of the predisposing variables were generally overpowered by the effects of lay consultation, but interaction effects were found between the predisposing variables and the need and lay consultation variables. The need variables were found to be the most important predictors of volume of visits. Lay consultation variables were not used in this analysis. Regular source of care was predictive of doctor visits while access to alternative sources of care was predictive of nurse and counselor visits. The predisposing variables had a greater effect on volume of visits than on provider contact. Different variables were found to predict use for traditional versus nontraditional problems and providers. These findings suggest that studies of adolescent health behavior must take into account the variety of health problems and providers that are relevant to adolescents.
Degree
Ph.D.
Subject Area
Welfare
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