Health-related quality of life and cumulative psychosocial risks in adolescents

Abstract

Psychosocial risks can negatively affect adolescents’ physical, psychological, and social health. Grounded on the cumulative risk theory, the objective of this study was to analyze the differences in health-related quality of life (HRQoL) depending on the accumulation of several psychosocial-risks (bullying, cyberbullying, cyberdating abuse, sexting, online grooming, and problematic Internet use). The participants were 3,212 Spanish adolescents (53.7% females) with a mean age of 13.92±1.44, who completed self-report online questionnaires that assessed each of the aforementioned risks and HRQoL. Overall, 41.4% of the female participants and 36.8% of the males presented at least one risk, with significant differences between sexes. The percentage of participants who presented an accumulation of three or more risks was 8.2%. Risk accumulation was related to a lower HRQoL score than those who presented no risks. The scores in HRQoL decrease at up to four risks, point at which the differences ceased to be significant.