2.2.2. Individual Factors

Age and gender were included as determinants in this study. In addition, respondents reported on their health status, which was measured via the Health Status subscale [29,30]. This measure consists of five items which are rated on a five-point Likert-type scale. Middle school students responded to the following questions: "I am in good physical health", "My body is in good physical shape", "I am a well-exercised person", "My body needs a lot of work in be in excellent physical shape", and "My physical health is in need of attention." The response options were as follows: Not at all characteristic of me; slightly characteristic of me; somewhat characteristic of me; moderately characteristic of me; and very characteristic of me. Two items were reverse-coded before analysis. We summed all items and higher scores indicated that respondents had greater physical health status. In this study, this scale had a Cronbach's alpha of 0.67 (*M* = 16.23; *SD* = 3.63; ranging from 6 to 25).
