Relationship Between Scholastic and Health Behaviors and Reading Level in Adolescent Females

Abstract

This was a study of 102 adolescent females, 12-20 years of age, presenting to a central city clinic for medical care. Participants completed an oral questionnaire that included demographics, and questions regarding scholastic history, sexual behavior, and substance use. Each subject completed the Accuracy Level Test (ALT), a reading test. The subject's reading test grade level was subtracted from her appropriate grade in school to give a reading delay level (RDL). The mean reading grade level for all subjects was 6.7 2.6 and the average reading delay was 4.5 2.5 grades. Poor school attenders had greater reading delays (5.8 3.4 grades behind vs. 4.3 .2 for good attenders p<0.04), and those who repeated grades were also significantly delayed (5.5 .4 grades behind vs. 3.7 .3, p<0.0007). Previously pregnant students had a greater delay in reading level than their nonpregnant peers (5.2 .3 vs. 3.9 .5 respectively p<0.01). Delayed reading levels appear to correlate with some risk behaviors. The ALT may serve as a tool to identify high-risk patients who need more intensive clinical intervention.

Get full access to this article

View all access options for this article.

References

1. Kozol J . Illiterate America. Garden City, NY: Anchor Press/Doubleday; 1985.

2. Hunter CS , Harman D . Adult Illiteracy in the United States. New York: McGraw Hill; 1985.

3. Literacy and the Marketplace: Improving the Literacy Skills of Low-Income Single Mothers. New York: Rockefeller Foundation; 1989.

4. Hart G . Unlocking the Future: Adult Literacy in Arizona. Phoenix: Governors's and Superintendent's Joint Task Force on Illiteracy; 1986.

5. Weiss BD , Hart G , Pust RE . The relationship between literacy and health, J Health Care Poor Underserved, Vol 1, No. 4, Spring 1991.

6. Cochrane SH , O'Hara DJ , Leslie J . The effects of education on health. World Bank Staff Working Paper No. 405 Washington, DC: World Bank; 1980.

7. Socioeconomic Differentials in Child Mortality in Developing Countries. New York: United Nations Department of Social and Economic Affairs; 1985.

8. Coeytaux F , Donaldson D , Aloui T , et al. An evaluation of cost-effectiveness of mobile family planning services in Tunisia. Stud Fam Plann. 1989;20:158-169.

9. Khan ME , Pressad CV . A comparison of 1970 and 1980 survey findings on family planning in India. Stud Fam Plann. 1985;16:312-320.

10.

10. Nwote LO , Uwagboe PE , Madubuko GU . Evaluation of home-made saltsugar oral rehydration solution in a rural Nigerian population. J Trop Med Hyg. 1988;91:23-27.

11.

11. Coreil J , Genece E . Adoption of oral rehydration therapy among Haitian mothers. Soc Sci Med. 1988:87-96.

12.

12. Raghavia M , Bansal RD , Srinvasa DK , et al. Absenteeism in leprosy patients in a rural area in Tamil Nadu. Indian J Lepr. 1987;59:322-329.

13.

13. Emembolu JO , Ekwempu CC . Carcinoma of the cervix uteri in Zaria: etiological factors. Int J Gynaecol Obstet. 1988;26:265-269.

14.

14. Davis T , Crouch M , Wills G , et al. The gap between patient reading comprehension and the readability of patient education materials. J Fam Pract. 1990;31:533-538.

15.

15. Doak LG , Doak CC . Patient comprehension profiles: recent findings and strategies. Patient Counsel Health Educ. 1980;2:101-106.

16.

16. Powers R . Emergency department patient literacy and readability of patient-directed materials. Ann Emerg Med. 1988;17:124-126.

17.

17. The Accuracy Level Test, Revrac Publications, Inc., Kansas City, MO.

18.

18. Carver RP . Technical Manual for the Accuracy Reading Test, Revrac Publications, Inc., Kansas City, MO, 1987.

19.

19. Epi Info Version 6 . The Division of Surveillance and Epidemiology, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia 30333.

20.

20. Williams M , Parker R , Baker D , et al. Inadequate functional health literacy among patients at two public hospitals. JAMA. 1995;274:1677-1682.

21.

21. Swanson J , Forrest K , Ledbetter C , et al. Readability of commercial and generic contraceptive instructions. Image. 1990;22:96-100.

22.

22. Wells J , Ruscavage D , Parker B , McArthur L . Literacy of women attending family planning clinics in Virginia and reading levels of brochures on HIV prevention. Family Plann Perspect. 1994;26:113-115, 131-131.

23.

23. Richwald G , Walmsley M , Coulson A , Moriskey D . Are condom instructions readable? Results of a readability study. Public Health Rep. 1988;103:355-359.