Health value, perceived social support, and health self-efficacy as factors in a health-promoting lifestyle.
During their college years, students may adopt healthpromoting lifestyles that bring about long-term benefits.


OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to explore the roles of health value, family/friend social support, and health self-efficacy in the health-promoting lifestyles of a diverse sample of 162 college students.


METHODS
Participants completed an Assessment Battery consisting of the following instruments: (1) a demographic questionnaire, (2) the Multi-Dimensional Support, (3) the Value on Health Scale, (4) the Self-Rated Abilities for Health Practices, (5) the Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile II, and (6) the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale.


RESULTS
Correlational analyses indicated that health value, perceived family/friend social support, and health self-efficacy were significantly associated with engagement in a health-promoting lifestyle. An analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) revealed that health value and health self-efficacy significantly predicted the level of engagement in a health-promoting lifestyle. Perceived family/friend social support was not significant in the model. As age increased, level of perceived family/friend social support decreased.


CONCLUSIONS
Present findings suggest that health interventions programs focus on assessing and increasing health self-efficacy and health value of these youth. College health professionals can design and evaluate the effectiveness of such health-promoting interventions.
Jackson
Erin S
ES
Psychology Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
Tucker
Carolyn M
CM
Herman
Keith C
KC
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005190:Family; D005260:Female; D015438:Health Behavior; D006801:Humans; D007182:Income; D008019:Life Style; D008297:Male; D044469:Racial Groups; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012944:Social Support