Development of an Instrument Measuring Perceived Environmental Healthfulness: Behavior Environment Perception Survey...

Area of Science:

• Health behavior research
• Psychometrics
• Higher education wellness

Background:

• College students face unique environmental influences on health.
• Assessing students' perceptions of their campus health environment is crucial for targeted interventions.
• Existing tools may not comprehensively capture these perceptions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a novel instrument to measure college students' perceptions of their campus health environment.
• To identify key environmental factors influencing student health behaviors.

Main Methods:

• Multi-stage development including item generation, cognitive interviews, and exploratory factor analysis.
• Confirmatory factor analysis was used to validate the factor structure across a large sample of undergraduate students.
• Criterion validation assessed associations between the survey scales and relevant health outcomes.

Main Results:

• A 21-item, 5-factor Behavior Environment Perception Survey was developed.
• The five factors identified were physical activity, healthful eating, mental health, barriers to healthful eating, and peer influences.
• The survey demonstrated strong psychometric properties and significant associations with validation criteria.

Conclusions:

• The Behavior Environment Perception Survey is a psychometrically sound instrument for assessing college students' perceptions of their campus health environment.
• The survey's breadth of constructs and validation across multiple universities enhance its utility for research and practice.
• Findings support the use of this tool to inform campus-level health promotion strategies.