Physical, mental, emotional and social health status of adolescents and youths in Benghazi, Libya

ABSTRACT

Adolescence and youth are stages of life that offer great opportunities for reduction of future health needs. A cross-sectional study was carried out to assess the physical, mental, emotional and social health status of adolescents and youths attending 2 large universities in Benghazi city, Libya, and to determine variables associated with their health status. Stratified sampling was used to select 383 students aged 17-24 years and data were collected by face-to-face interview and self-administered questionnaires. Major health problems were depression/anxiety and pain/discomfort, and these were suffered by significantly more females than males. Mental health was at the transitional stage in Dabrowski's emotional development theory [spontaneous multilevel disintegration]. Females had higher levels of emotional development. Regular physical activity was practised by 34.7% overall [25.8% of women] and 17.2% were smokers. The main social activity was visiting family members