Predicting Flossing through the Application of the Multi-Theory Model (MTM) of Health Behavior Change among Minority Adolescents in the United States

Manoj Sharma, Kavita Batra (), Ching-Chen Chen, Chia-Liang Dai, Ravi Batra and David P. Cappelli
Additional contact information
Manoj Sharma: Department of Social and Behavioral Health, School of Public Health, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV 89119, USA
Kavita Batra: Department of Medical Education, Kirk Kerkorian School of Medicine at UNLV, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV 89102, USA
Ching-Chen Chen: Department of Counselor Education, School Psychology, and Human Services, College of Education, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV 89154, USA
Chia-Liang Dai: Department of Teaching and Learning, College of Education, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV 89154, USA
Ravi Batra: Department of Social and Behavioral Health, School of Public Health, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV 89119, USA
David P. Cappelli: School of Dental Medicine, University of Nevada, Las Vegas, NV 89102, USA

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 22, 1-19

Abstract: Adolescents from minority groups are particularly susceptible to poor oral hygiene behaviors, including lack of daily flossing. This cross-sectional study aimed to conduct an exploratory behavioral research to identify evidence-based (theory-based) approaches to promote flossing behavior among African American/Black and Latinx/Hispanic (minority) adolescents. A 39-item psychometrically valid web-based questionnaire was used to collect responses from a nationwide sample of minority adolescents aged 10–17 years residing in the United States. The data were analyzed using bivariate and multivariate statistical methods. Of 520 minority adolescents (260 African American/Black and 260 Latinx/Hispanic adolescents), the proportion of flossing was nearly equally split in the sample. A significantly higher proportion of minority adolescents who were flossing had access to floss as opposed to those who were not flossing (86.8% vs. 69.8%, p < 0.001). A significantly higher proportion of minority adolescents who were not flossing did not visit the dentist over the past year as opposed to those who floss (25.2% vs. 14.7%, p < 0.001). Among the participants who were not flossing, gender, grade level, instruction in school regarding flossing, and multi-theory model (MTM) of health behavior change constructs were the significant predictors ( p < 0.001) of initiating and sustaining flossing. The findings of this study will serve as baseline data for developing and evaluating effective evidence-based interventions using the MTM.

Keywords: oral health; flossing; adolescents; African American/black; Latinx/Hispanic adolescents; health disparities (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/22/15106/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/19/22/15106/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:19:y:2022:i:22:p:15106-:d:974485

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().