Developing a model of health behavior intentions and actual health behaviors of Korean male university students

Abstract

Background and objective The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship between health behavior intentions and actual health behaviors by applying the theory of planned behavior (TPB) to Korean male university students. Material and methods The participants of this study were students at Kyung Hee University Global Campus in Yongin-si, Gyeonggi-do, the Republic of Korea. The students of this university are high-achieving, motivated students, and the school was ranked within the top 50 Asia-Pacific universities in 2019 as per an assessment carried out by "Times Higher Education," a university assessment organization in United Kingdom. Questionnaires were distributed to 278 male students from Kyung Hee University in January of 2019. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was conducted to predict health behavior intentions and actual health behaviors in this population. Statistical significance was set at p<0.05. Results Results show that attitudes toward health in Korean male university students was correlated with their health behavior intentions (ß=0.463, p=0.005). In addition, subjective norms about health in Korean male university students did not significantly affect health behavior intentions (ß=0.073, p=0.619). Perceived behavior control regarding health in the participants was correlated with health behavior intentions (ß=0.542, p<0.001) and actual health behaviors (ß=0.745, p<0.001). Health behavior intentions in Korean male university students did not significantly affect actual health behaviors (ß=0.151, p=0.108). Conclusion TPB provides an advantageous theoretical model to predict health behavior intentions and actual health behaviors in Korean male university students. Physical activity and classes related to health education may increase the impact of perceived behavior controls. Such classes should be provided to effectively improve health behavior intentions and actual health behaviors of Korean male university students.