Does attachment to parents and peers influence health literacy among adolescents in Malaysia?

Despite extensive research on the impact of social factors on the health literacy of adolescents, few studies have investigated how attachment to parents and peers influences adolescents’ level of health literacy. Adolescence is generally viewed as the period of life before adulthood, and during thi...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Hamzah, Siti Raba’ah, Ismail, Maimunah, Mohd Nor, Zanariah
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, University of South Bohemia 2018
Online Access:http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/54257/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/54257/1/Does%20attachment%20to%20parents%20and%20peers%20influence%20health%20literacy%20among%20adolescents%20in%20Malaysia.pdf
_version_ 1848852495586033664
author Hamzah, Siti Raba’ah
Ismail, Maimunah
Mohd Nor, Zanariah
author_facet Hamzah, Siti Raba’ah
Ismail, Maimunah
Mohd Nor, Zanariah
author_sort Hamzah, Siti Raba’ah
building UPM Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description Despite extensive research on the impact of social factors on the health literacy of adolescents, few studies have investigated how attachment to parents and peers influences adolescents’ level of health literacy. Adolescence is generally viewed as the period of life before adulthood, and during this phase, young persons are dependent on the support of their parents and peers. This study was conducted in response to the gap in the research regarding the influence of parental and peer attachment on the health literacy of adolescents. The participants in this study comprised a random sample of adolescents aged 15–17 years, who were residents of the Klang Valley, a highly urbanized region in Malaysia. The study found that the level of health literacy among these adolescents was moderate (M = 3.61, SD = 0.51 on a scale of 5). While the level of peer attachment among them was moderate (M = 3.48, SD = 0.58), the level of parental attachment was high (M = 3.73, SD = 0.83 on a scale of 5). Both parental attachment (β = 0.30, p < 0.05) and peer attachment (β = 0.37, p < 0.05) were shown to have significant independent effects on the level of adolescents’ health literacy. Together, parental attachment and peer attachment explained 30% of the variance in health literacy among adolescents.
first_indexed 2025-11-15T10:38:59Z
format Article
id upm-54257
institution Universiti Putra Malaysia
institution_category Local University
language English
last_indexed 2025-11-15T10:38:59Z
publishDate 2018
publisher Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, University of South Bohemia
recordtype eprints
repository_type Digital Repository
spelling upm-542572020-01-14T03:39:35Z http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/54257/ Does attachment to parents and peers influence health literacy among adolescents in Malaysia? Hamzah, Siti Raba’ah Ismail, Maimunah Mohd Nor, Zanariah Despite extensive research on the impact of social factors on the health literacy of adolescents, few studies have investigated how attachment to parents and peers influences adolescents’ level of health literacy. Adolescence is generally viewed as the period of life before adulthood, and during this phase, young persons are dependent on the support of their parents and peers. This study was conducted in response to the gap in the research regarding the influence of parental and peer attachment on the health literacy of adolescents. The participants in this study comprised a random sample of adolescents aged 15–17 years, who were residents of the Klang Valley, a highly urbanized region in Malaysia. The study found that the level of health literacy among these adolescents was moderate (M = 3.61, SD = 0.51 on a scale of 5). While the level of peer attachment among them was moderate (M = 3.48, SD = 0.58), the level of parental attachment was high (M = 3.73, SD = 0.83 on a scale of 5). Both parental attachment (β = 0.30, p < 0.05) and peer attachment (β = 0.37, p < 0.05) were shown to have significant independent effects on the level of adolescents’ health literacy. Together, parental attachment and peer attachment explained 30% of the variance in health literacy among adolescents. Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, University of South Bohemia 2018-12 Article NonPeerReviewed text en http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/54257/1/Does%20attachment%20to%20parents%20and%20peers%20influence%20health%20literacy%20among%20adolescents%20in%20Malaysia.pdf Hamzah, Siti Raba’ah and Ismail, Maimunah and Mohd Nor, Zanariah (2018) Does attachment to parents and peers influence health literacy among adolescents in Malaysia? Kontakt, 20 (4). pp. 348-355. ISSN 1212-4117; ESSN: 1804-7122 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1212411718300655 10.1016/j.kontakt.2018.10.006
spellingShingle Hamzah, Siti Raba’ah
Ismail, Maimunah
Mohd Nor, Zanariah
Does attachment to parents and peers influence health literacy among adolescents in Malaysia?
title Does attachment to parents and peers influence health literacy among adolescents in Malaysia?
title_full Does attachment to parents and peers influence health literacy among adolescents in Malaysia?
title_fullStr Does attachment to parents and peers influence health literacy among adolescents in Malaysia?
title_full_unstemmed Does attachment to parents and peers influence health literacy among adolescents in Malaysia?
title_short Does attachment to parents and peers influence health literacy among adolescents in Malaysia?
title_sort does attachment to parents and peers influence health literacy among adolescents in malaysia?
url http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/54257/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/54257/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/54257/
http://psasir.upm.edu.my/id/eprint/54257/1/Does%20attachment%20to%20parents%20and%20peers%20influence%20health%20literacy%20among%20adolescents%20in%20Malaysia.pdf