Research reveals that Black youth are less likely to use alcohol than White youth. It has been argued that Blacks are more likely to abstain because they have less disposable income, are more religious, and have more family support and/or control than White youth. It has also been suggested that not only are these compositional characteristics…

Understanding the behaviors and attitudes of at-risk populations is fundamental to controlling the spread of HIV, the virus that causes AIDS. The problem of nonresponse among these populations, however, plagues survey research designed to address these issues. Previous work undertaken to map out the dynamics of nonresponse--both noncontacts and…

The Healthy Directions-Small Business randomized, controlled study aimed to reduce cancer risk among multiethnic workers in small manufacturing businesses by increasing fruit and vegetable consumption, physical activity, and daily multivitamin in take and decreasing consumption of red meat. The intervention incorporated participatory strategies…

Obesity is an important worldwide public health problem. Obesogenic environments have been associated with increasing rates of overweight and obesity. The relationship between obesity and the built environment, along with its implications for health education are discussed in this article.

Objective: Because little is known about college-age smokers, the authors conducted a qualitative study to better understand this population. Participants: Forty college student smokers from 12 Pacific Northwest colleges participated in the study. Methods: The authors identified themes and built models to ascertain important factors related to…

Recent social influence research utilizing psychological reactance theory (J. W. Brehm, 1966) has focused on how reactance motivates message rejection due to threats to perceived freedoms posed by controlling language. Although reactance has been shown to increase message rejection and source derogation, persuasive appeals employing alternative…

This paper addresses some issues concerning the use of written instruments for measuring health behavior change. A description is given of the Health Behavior Risk Factor Prevalence Survey which was developed to identify group members' risk-taking behaviors. This instrument was used to measure the health behaviors of a group of employees in the…

The "Personal Behavior Health Project" is a tool the health teacher can use to promote actual changes in health behavior. (MM)

This workbook/coloring book, on the liver and good health is designed for primary school students. The 21 line drawings illustrate different aspects of liver function, maintaining a healthy liver, and preventing liver disease. Each page is captioned in both English and Spanish. (ND)

Reviews changing patterns of health and illness that have led to increased interest in the role of patient and provider behaviors, discussing the advantages of using health care settings as prevention sites. Presents examples of successful behaviorally-based prevention programs, offering evidence supporting their cost-effectiveness. Describes…

Tested an expanded version of the Health Belief Model (HBM) in predicting condom use among heterosexual African American college students. Overall, only the core HBM explained a significant amount of variance in condom use. Perceived barriers and gender significantly predicted condom use. Perceived barriers mediated the correlation between gender…

Investigated the tobacco-related attitudes, behaviors, and needs of smoking and nonsmoking teens being seen for routine primary care, identifying tobacco use predictors. Most teens approached were willing to receive tobacco and diet interventions. Smoking predictors included older age, lower educational aspirations, having parents or friends who…

Examined relations between behavior, intentions, attitudes, subjective norms, perceived behavioral control, self-efficacy, and past behaviors using the Theories of Reasoned Action (TRA) and Planned Behavior (TPB) in physical activity. This quantitative integration of the physical activity literature supported the major relationships of the…

Presents a series of contemporary theoretical models to facilitate the identification of strategies to increase opportunities for and motivation toward physical activity among people with disabilities. They include achievement goal and competence motivation theories, socialization model, movement confidence, social cognitive theory, and the…

Examined factors related to health practices of urban minority adolescents. Participant surveys highlighted positive correlations between social support and positive health practices and hope and positive health practices. There was no significant relationship between self-esteem and positive health practices. Implications for school nursing…