The relative influence of health beliefs, parental and peer behaviors and exercise program participation on smoking, alcohol use and physical activity

This research specifies a model for lifestyle health behavior which includes socialization, social environmental and cognitive influences on smoking, alcohol use and exercise. Survey respondents were participants in university conditioning classes, academic health classes and a community fitness program. Of the socialization influences, drinking by both parents was directly related to drinking by females and drinking by the mother to that of males. Physical activity level of the father was associated with the activity of both genders. Parental smoking was not related to that of the respondents. Income was positively correlated with alcohol consumption in both genders and with smoking among women. In the immediate environment, drinking and smoking by male and female friends were directly associated with that of both male and female respondents with congruent gender relationships being strongest. Exercise by male friends was positively associated with activity level for both genders, as was exercise by female friends for women only. For college students, program participation was related to lower alcohol consumption among men only and higher activity level for women only. It was not related to the likelihood of smoking. For cognitive factors, belief in the efficacy of lifestyle change was inversely related to alcohol consumption for both genders and to smoking for women. Susceptibility to heart disease was associated with a low exercise frequency and smoking, while generalized susceptibility was directly related to activity level and to smoking. Self control over health was positively related to activity level. With one exception, the peer modeling variables had the strongest relationships of any of the model elements in the multivariate analyses. Gender specificity for modeling of behavior was found for peers, but not for parents. These findings suggest that prevention programs incorporate strategies to maximize peer support for healthful behavior and to counteract the effects of unhealthful behavior modeled by peers. Interventions to increase beliefs in the efficacy of lifestyle change to reduce risk are appropriate to encourage behavior change. When the change is underway, discussion of lowered susceptibility as a function of program compliance should reinforce the new behavior.