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Abstract
Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the changes of health behaviors in college students as they transition through their freshman year. Methods: At a southern public university, the author surveyed 167 freshmen, ages 18 to 25, to examine the effects of physical activity and nutrition on stress management, interpersonal relationships and alcohol consumption in college freshmen. The participant's responses were assessed at two time points: baseline exposure and 3 month outcome and 3 month exposure and 6 month outcome. The Health-Promoting Lifestyle Profile (HPLP) II questionnaire and the Daily Drinking questionnaire (DDQ) examined the health behaviors and drinking consumption of college freshmen. Results: Students with moderate physical activity had nearly .5 decreased odds of having high stress management as compared to students with high physical activity. However, this result was not statistically significant; baseline to 3 months (OR= 0.49, 95% CI: 0.24, 1.01); 3 to 6 months (OR= 0.52 95% CI: 0.25, 1.29). Students with moderate nutrition had nearly 1.5 times the odds of having high interpersonal relationships as compared to students with high nutrition. This result was not statistically significant: baseline to 3 months (OR=1.49, 95% CI: 0.23, 2.34); 3 to 6 months (OR=1.57, 95% CI: 0.89, 4.35). Discussion: Future studies that assess stress management, interpersonal relationships and alcohol consumption in college students should have larger sample sizes to examine these associations. Few studies have evaluated these behaviors together, and this study can provide further understanding of health promotion behaviors in college students.