Health information behavior of adolescents: a large-scale cross-sectional representative study

Abstract Background Adolescence represents a pivotal developmental phase characterized by profound physical, cognitive and emotional changes, making it vital for public health interventions. As information-processing skills and critical thinking improve, learning about pathways to and sources for health information is vital for health behavior and the build-up towards their future information ecosystem. This study explores adolescents’ health information behavior, health learning and sociodemographics to identify public health targets related to social, commercial and digital health determinants. Methods The representative cross-sectional study involved N = 1448 students (9-18y.) in 16 German federal states. Health information behavior was assessed using validated scales regarding learning source for health and sources to access health information. To examine sociodemographic differences in studentś health information behavior, descriptive statistics and Chi-square tests were conducted. Results Results indicate adolescents learn about health topics mostly from physicians (30.3%), parents (26.4%) and in school (16.5%). Youtube (22.0%), messengers (21.0%) and social media (18.9%) are weekly used online sources for health topics. Associations were found for learning from (a) physicians (family affluence (X2 (3)=81.27, p<.001, migration background (X2 (3)=44.56, p<.001, education level (X2 (3)=10.91, p<.05), (b) parents (family affluence (X2 (3)=45.4, p<.001, migration background (X2 (3)=33.64, p<.001, education level (X2 (3)=8.58, p<.05) and (c) schools (family affluence X2 (3)=27.26, p<.001, migration background X2 (3)=12.95 p<.05). Conclusions Adolescents primarily learn about health from physicians and parents, while YouTube, messenger apps, and social media play a significant role for learning about health. Associations between learning sources and sociodemographics stress the importance of considering social and digital determinants when developing health education strategies.