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Mutual Help in Relation to Health: The Experience of Children

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Abstract

Children's perceptions concerning health-related actions exchanged with parents, siblings, and school personnel were studied. Five- to twelve-year-olds (n = 1,674) reported receiving and initiating health actions related mainly to the promotion of healthy lifestyle behaviors, but promotion of harmonious interpersonal relationships, helping behaviors, and therapeutic acts also occur Results show that children do not see themselves solely as receiving health care and advice from others, but also as acting upon others' health. The findings provide information about children's perceptions of bidirectional health-related actions between themselves and others; aspects of health cognitions and health socialization that have received little attention and that are of interest from a primary prevention perspective.

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Jutras, S., Normandeau, S. & Kalnins, I. Mutual Help in Relation to Health: The Experience of Children. The Journal of Primary Prevention 18, 173–192 (1997). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024638407816

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