Prevalence of and factors associated with the adolescents’negative self- perception in health: a systematic review

Objective: To review in the literature the prevalence of and the factors associated with the adolescents’ negative self- perception in health. Methods: A systematic review that used, assources for search, the following databases: LILACS, MEDLINE/PubMed and ADOLEC, using descriptors indexed to DeCS/MeSH. In the selection process, the articles were analyzed in three stages: reading of the titles, abstracts and full texts of the articles according to the eligibility criteria. Results: Of the 886 articles found, after the using the filters, 25 articles were selected for full-text reading but, after that, only 10 articles were included in the results of this research. The studies showed a prevalence of negative self-perception in adolescents ranging from 1.2% to 38%, and other associated factors, such as the socioeconomic factors, interpersonal relationships, and health risk behaviors were also verified. Conclusion: The scientific evidence indicates that socioeconomic factors, relationship with family and friends, stress, psychological aspects and health risk behaviors are linked to the adolescents’ negative self-perception in health. Furthermore, being female, having low income, and being older were also factors for an increase in the adolescent’s negative evaluation of their health status.