1. Intention to Change Multiple Health Risk Behaviors and Predictors of Behavior Change in Vocational Education Students
- Author
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Prince Atorkey, Christine Paul, John Wiggers, Billie Bonevski, Aimee Mitchell, and Flora Tzelepis
- Abstract
No studies have examined vocational education students' intention to change multiple health risk behaviors and whether baseline characteristics predict behavior change. Participants: Participants were vocational education students in New South Wales, Australia. Methods: Students in the no-intervention control arm of a cluster randomized controlled trial completed an online survey at baseline and 6 months later. Results: Of 450 participants (83.3%) who reported multiple health risk behaviors at baseline, one-third (33.1%) intended to change at least two risk behaviors within 6 months. Participants experiencing symptoms of anxiety [OR = 7.43, 95% CIs 1.26-43.87; p = 0.03] and who intended to change three to four risk behaviors [OR = 23.30, 95% CIs 4.01-135.40; p = 0.001] rather than one behavior had significantly greater odds of changing at least one behavior in 6 months. Conclusions: Interventions could support vocational education students to change behaviors they wish to as well as motivate them to address other risk behaviors.
- Published
- 2024
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