Barriers to Self-Management Behaviors in College Students with Food Allergies
Abstract
Food allergies are potentially life-threatening conditions, yet food-allergic college students oftentimes neglect the self-management behaviors necessary to prevent serious allergic reactions. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the barriers to successful management of food allergies among this population. It was hypothesized that the Health Beliefs Model (HBM) and the Common Sense Self-Regulation Model (CS-SRM) would account for variance in self-management behaviors and that a tendency to engage in risky behaviors would moderate the relationship between the independent variables and adherence to self-management behaviors. Undergraduate college students between the ages of 18 and 25 years (N=141) were administered an online questionnaire about their beliefs and behaviors related to their food allergy and to their engagement in risky behaviors more generally. Regression analyses demonstrated that the CS-SRM and risky behavior measure accounted for some of the variance in self-management behaviors for college students who had been prescribed self-injectable epinephrine (SIE). Additionally, the HBM, CS-SRM, and risky behavior measure accounted for some of the variance in self-management behaviors for the full sample regardless of SIE prescription status. These findings reveal malleable beliefs and behaviors that can be targeted in interventions to increase adherence to self-management behaviors in college students. Furthermore, they demonstrate that tailoring such interventions based on SIE prescription status may be more effective than blanket interventions.
Subject Area
Psychology
Recommended Citation
Duncan, Sarah Elizabeth, "Barriers to Self-Management Behaviors in College Students with Food Allergies" (2016). ETD Collection for Fordham University. AAI10192829.
https://research.library.fordham.edu/dissertations/AAI10192829
