Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Cyberspace 2021, Brno, Çek Cumhuriyeti, 26 - 29 Kasım 2021
Seeking health information online is prevalent among adolescents. Yet, there is limited evidence on
the characteristics of youth that are associated with online health information-seeking behaviors.
Furthermore, the role of parental factors has been mostly a neglected topic in the field. The current
study aimed at evaluating adolescent and parental characteristics together in explaining the online
health information-seeking behaviors of adolescents. The adolescent characteristics included the
level of e-health literacy and trust in online health information. The frequency of online health
information-seeking and e-health literacy mediation reported by parents were the parental
variables. Health information websites were separated based on their content and the analyses were
conducted separately for the websites that contained information about diseases (Covid-19, other
diseases, and medications) and the websites that contained information about promoting health
(diets, weight loss, and exercise). Czech adolescents (N= 1530; 50% girls) aged 13-18 and their
parents (64% women) participated in the study and completed the respective online questionnaires
relating to the study variables. The data were collected in 2020 as a part of the FUTURE project:
Modelling the future: Understanding the impact of technology on adolescents’ well-being (GX19-
27828X). The proposed models were estimated using Structural Equation Modeling with Robust
Maximum Likelihood estimator. The fit indices were within the acceptable range for disease-related
(CFI= 0.95; TLI= 0.94; RMSEA= 0.04 ⦏0.040-0.048⦐) and health-promoting websites (CFI= 0.95; TLI=
0.94; RMSEA= 0.04 ⦏0.039-0.048⦐). Consistent with the hypotheses, adolescents' level of e-health
literacy and trust in online health information and the frequency of parental online health
information-seeking and e-health literacy mediation were positively associated with online health
information seeking behaviors of adolescents. The presentation will introduce the suggested models
and summarize the preliminary findings related to the direction and magnitude of the associations
between adolescent and parental characteristics.