The relationship between healthy lifestyle behaviors, health locus of control and health self-efficacy of college students

One fourth of the population of our country is consisted of young people. Youth is concurrent with the college years which have several difficulties. When one considers that the habits which are gained during the college years could affect life either positively or negatively, the importance of health promoting activities targeted at youth becomes potent. Health promotion is a method which enables people to improve their control on their health. Health behaviors play a key role in health promotion. In initiating and maintaining health behaviors, cognitive-perceptual factors are important motivational mechanisms. In this study, starting from this point of view, the relationship of healthy lifestyle behaviors with health locus of control and health self-efficacy of college students is investigated. The sample of the study is consisted of 617 college students in several faculties of Gazi University. The participants filled out Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profiles II, Multidimensional Health Locus of Control Scale, Perceived Health Competence Scale and a brief personal information form which was developed by the author. In the analysis of the gathered data, frequencies, percentages, multivariate analysis of variance, Spearman correlation coefficients and structural equation modeling were used. Results of the study showed that healthy lifestyle behaviors increase as the level of income increases, health self-efficacy is a important predictor of health lifestyle behaviors, internal health locus of control has an indirect effect on healthy lifestyle behaviors through health self-efficacy, powerful others health locus of control has both a direct effect and an indirect effect on healthy lifestyle behaviors through health self-efficacy and chance health locus of control has an indirect effect in the reverse direction on healthy lifestyle behaviors through health self-efficacy.