Informational and educational campaigns for the promotion of health and well-being among the adolescents

According to the bio-psycho-social approach proposed by the WHO (1983), we present an activity of research-intervention on the promotion of well-being, especially addressed to adolescents, assuming that: some problematic behaviour – such as incorrect food-intake, usage of alcohol and cigarettes, early and unprotected sex, sedentary lifestyle – can arise during adolescence; school has an essential role in promoting health; mere information does not have a significant effect on the promotion of a healthy lifestyle. The informational intervention was supported with an educational process, aiming to achieve specific life skills. Textual and multi-medial products have been prepared ad hoc and have been proposed to 356 adolescents, both in the pre and post test phase in a quasi-experimental design of research. We have surveyed the subjects’ attitude towards health/well being, knowledge, habits, intentions, risk perception, locus of control, self-efficacy and well-being. The results highlight healthy habits and high values for all the variables, except for the risk perception. The altogether of the informational and educational intervention has increased risk perception and self-efficacy, whereas the internal locus of control and the psychological well-being have decreased. A negative relation has only been found between well-being and risk perception, while all relations between well-being and the other variables were positive. The differences among the subjects surveyed (by gender, age, and type of education) turned out to be relevant.