Back to Basics: Tracing Health and Risk Behaviors Back to Well-Being

Authors

  • Jay Kimiecik,PhD
  • Rose Marie Ward, PhD
  • Elizabeth Sohns

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.47779/ajhs.2019.28

Keywords:

well-being, alcohol, marijuana, diet, physical activity, college students

Abstract

College students typically fall short of public health guidelines for healthy diet and physical ac-
tivity, and a significant percentage engage in binge drinking and marijuana use. The main objective of
this study was to examine the association between overall well-being and these health and risk behaviors.
Students (n=363) completed online questionnaires measuring well-being (basic psychological needs, eu-
daimonic well-being, subjective vitality, and intrinsic and extrinsic life aspirations), diet, physical activity,
and substance use.Within a structural equation modeling framework, the model fit the data, x2(n=334,
241)=504.65, p<.001, CFI=.96, TLI=.95, RMSEA=.057, CI90 [.05-.06]. Basic psychological needs
was significantly related to intrinsic life aspirations (β=.50), extrinsic life aspirations (β=.42), subjective
vitality (β=.53), alcohol use (β=.21), diet (β=.36), and physical activity (β=.20). To a lesser extent,
eudaimoniawas associated with allpreviously mentioned variablesbesides alcohol use.These results suggest
that interventions targeting college students may need to consider the motivational influence of general
well-being underlying health and risk behaviors.

Published

2019-01-01

How to Cite

Kimiecik, J., Ward, R. M., & Sohns, E. (2019). Back to Basics: Tracing Health and Risk Behaviors Back to Well-Being. American Journal of Health Studies, 34(1). https://doi.org/10.47779/ajhs.2019.28