The development of health protective behaviors among college students

This study uses structural equation modeling and a panel design to explain participation in health protective behavior (HPB) among college students. The direct, indirect, and total effects of gender, social influences (parental and peer behavior), social attachments (activity involvement, social support, and romantic involvement), social triggers (personal health, acute illnesses, and personal or family health crisis), health value, and effort to improve health behavior on HPB are examined. A path model with a high goodness of fit and an R2 of .418 shows that gender; health value, and effort to change health behaviors are the most powerful predictors of HPB participation, while parents and peers influence HPB indirectly through influence on health value and effort to change. Neither the social attachment nor social trigger items influenced HPB in this sample. Implications of these findings are discussed.