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Related Experiment Videos

Predicting young adults' health risk behavior

F X Gibbons1, M Gerrard

  • 1Department of Psychology, Iowa State University, Ames 50011, USA.

Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
|September 1, 1995
PubMed
Summary

Understanding health risk behaviors in college students is crucial. This study found that perceptions of risk behaviors, like smoking and drinking, influence and are influenced by actual behavior, especially when social comparison is frequent.

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Area of Science:

  • Psychology
  • Public Health
  • Behavioral Science

Background:

  • College students exhibit various health risk behaviors, including substance use, risky driving, and inadequate contraception.
  • Understanding the psychological factors influencing these behaviors is essential for developing effective interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To test a prototype model of risk behavior in a longitudinal study of college students.
  • To examine the relationship between perceptions of health risk behaviors and self-reported behaviors.

Main Methods:

  • A longitudinal study tracked 679 college students from freshman year.
  • Assessed perceptions of a risk behavior prototype and self-reported behaviors (smoking, drinking, reckless driving, ineffective contraception).
  • Investigated the moderating role of social comparison on the perception-behavior relationship.

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Main Results:

  • Prototype perception was significantly related to risk behavior in both reactive (behavior influencing perception) and prospective (perception influencing behavior) ways.
  • Perceptions predicted subsequent behavior changes.
  • The prospective relationship between perception and behavior change was stronger for individuals who frequently engaged in social comparison.

Conclusions:

  • The prototype model effectively explains the dynamic interplay between risk behavior perceptions and actual behavior in college students.
  • Social comparison significantly moderates the influence of risk behavior perceptions on behavior change.
  • Findings suggest potential targets for interventions aimed at reducing health risks in young adults.