Backgrounds: Health behaviors currently are associated with better
quality of life. School-age children are at risk period to adapt their environment
in doing healthy risk behaviors. This observational study is to describe health
behaviors. It also examines its associations with quality of life in school-age
children. Methods: This study examined health behaviors (i.e., eating habit,
physical activity, smoking, drinking alcohol, sexual behavior, violence, school
behavior, and social life) of 200 school-age children in a Junior High School in
Teluk Naga, Tangerang using Indonesian-Health Behavior School-age Children
questionnaire, and PedsQL Questionnaire which measures four domains of
quality of life (physical functions, mental status, social and school functions).
Results: School-age children showed high prevalence of eating habit (n = 65%),
less physical activity (38.5%), smoking (n = 23.5%), drinking alcohol (n =
27.5%), sexual behavior (31.0%), violence (45%), economy status (32.5%),
school perception (26.5%), and social life (31.5%). In addition, this study
revealed that school-age children have a prevalence in good physical functions
(47%), mental status (42%), social (58%), and school functions (43.5%). In a
multivariate model, health behaviors (physical activity, smoking, sexual
behavior, social activity, and violence) (P<0.05) were dominantly correlated
with quality of life. Conclusion: The current study provides beneficial
information on how health risk behavior influenced the quality of life. This study
has the potential to develop better health education and promotion programs in
school-age children.