Student profiles of physical activity, screen time, sleep quality and dietary habits and their association with mental health and school satisfaction: An exploratory study

Abstract

The interrelated nature of mental health and indicators of school success in children and adolescents has been under‐investigated from a person‐centered perspective. In this exploratory study, we examined patterns of health behavior in relation to mental health and school satisfaction. A convenience sample of 315 students ( M _age = 11.39; SD = 2.045) from two British schools in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates participated in an online survey that included self‐report measures of physical activity, screen time, sleep quality, dietary habits, mental health, and school satisfaction. Based on latent profile analysis, we identified four distinct health behavior profiles: high, low, average, and poor sleep and diet. Significant variation across profiles was evident for mental health subscores, age, and gender, although the results for gender were due to a high number of participants identifying as “other” or preferring not to say their gender. Profile membership was significantly associated with mental health and school satisfaction with students in the high health behavior profile reporting the highest scores on these outcomes. This study presents novel findings about students' health behaviors and school satisfaction and provides impetus for continuing research in this area of inquiry from a person‐centered perspective.

Practitioner Points

• Students were classified into three health behavior profiles (high, low, and poor diet and sleep).

• Profile membership was related to mental health and school satisfaction.

• Mental health and school satisfaction were highest for students in the high health behavior profile.