Journal of School of Public Health and

  Background and Aim: It is known that personal behavior influences one’s health. The present study was designed to investigate lifestyle of non-medical students of governmental and private (Azad) universities in Kashan, Iran and factors affecting it.

  Materials and Methods: A cross-sectional study was carried out on 520 non-medical students in Kashan, Iran, selected by convenience sampling, in academic year 2013-14. Data on demographic characteristics and health behaviors were collected using standard valid questionnaires, for the latter the questionnaire being the Pender’s Health Promoting Lifestyle Profile II (HPLP II). The data were analyzed using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, followed by t-test, and U Mann-Whitney test to compare the means of the two populations. 

  Results: The m ean age of the students was 21.75 ± 2.5 years. Their overall health-promoting lifestyle score was of 2.43 (SD = 0.38). This score, as well as scores for the subcategories ─ nutritional behavior, spiritual development, physical activity, health responsibility, and stress management ─ were lower for the subjects with an experience of stressful events. Further analysis of the data showed that t here were significant differences between boys and girls as regards physical activity (P = 0.000), between single and married students as regards nutritional status (P = 0.032), and between working and non-working students as regards spiritual development (P = 0.014).

  Conclusion: The findings indicate that experienced stressful events lay the ground for the adoption of risky behaviors in university students. Therefore, universities should design and implement programs aiming at improving lifestyle of the students and promoting their health.

Background and Aim: Children are one of the most vulnerable groups in the population. Child abuse is a complex phenomenon with multiple causes. The purpose of this study was to do a confirmatory factor analysis of child abuse potential inventory among Ahvazi children in Ahvaz, Iran.

Materials and Methods: This was a descriptive-analytical study, including all Ahvazi primary school pupils aged 8-13 years in the academic year 2015-2016.

The sample size for confirmatory factor analysis was determined based on the number of questions per parameter.The variance was extracted on the basis of mean scores and

composite reliability for structural equation modeling was determined based on the first-order and second-order confirmatory factor analysisusing the LISREL software.

Results: Confirmatory factor analysis revealed a short form of the child abuse's original 3-actor structure, including the psychological, physical and neglect scales. The outcomes indicated that the firstorder model was a better fit for the data than the second.

Conclusion: It can be concluded that the Ahvazi version of the child abuse potential inventory questionnaire is acceptable from a psychometric point of view. We think it is essential to take into consideration the diversity of perspectives between parents and children in future research in this area.