Critical Factors for Health Behavior Among University Students: The Role of Health Consciousness, Health Knowledge,...

Area of Science:

• Health Behavior Science
• Behavioral Psychology
• Public Health

Background:

• Sedentary lifestyles pose significant health risks to university students.
• Adopting healthy behaviors is crucial for mitigating these risks.
• Existing models needed expansion to address specific student populations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To explore factors influencing health behavior (HB) in university students.
• To develop and test the University Student Health Behavior Model (USHBM).
• To identify key predictors of health behavior adoption.

Main Methods:

• Cross-sectional survey design with 384 Chinese university students.
• Utilized structural equation modeling (SEM) for data analysis.
• Integrated Theory of Planned Behavior with health consciousness, knowledge, and risk perception.

Main Results:

• Health knowledge directly predicted behavioral intention (p < 0.001).
• Perceived behavioral control was the strongest predictor of behavioral intention (p < 0.001).
• Health consciousness positively influenced attitude, subjective norm, and perceived behavioral control.
• Risk perception significantly predicted health behavior adoption (p < 0.001).

Conclusions:

• Findings offer a nuanced understanding of university students' health behavior.
• Identified key psychological and cognitive factors influencing health behavior.
• Provided practical implications for interventions to promote healthy habits in students.