Resumo

ALONSO PALACIO, Luz Marina et al. An assessment of health risk behaviors among first college students at a private university in Barranquilla (Colombia). Salud, Barranquilla [online]. 2008, vol.24, n.2, pp.235-247. ISSN 0120-5552.

Objective: To investigate the health knowledge and behaviors of first year college students attending a private university in Colombia. Materials and methods: This descriptive study had a sample population of 540 students randomly selected from 2500 eligible students in the population. Data were collected using a modified version of the Youth Risk Behavior Survey developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in the US. Data were analyzed using SPSS v. 13. Findings. The average age in the sample was 18 years of age, 52.7% of the sample population were women, 13.5% were considered overweight and 2.6% were obese. 20% of the sample walks more than 10 minutes per day, and an additional 20% walks less than 30 minutes on a daily basis. Forty three percent listens to music as a stress management technique. Over two thirds of the study participants have consumed alcohol at least once in their lifestyle, 35.2% have smoked, 56% use some form of contraceptive methods, and 51.1% reported being sexually active. Only 1.1% of study participantsreported an STI, 4.3% had considered suicide in the last year, and 65,2% had actually tried to commit suicide. Conclusions: Risk behaviors are prevalent among first year collage students making important to design strategies designed to ameliorate their influence in the health status of adolescents.

Palavras-chave : University students; adolescents; tobacco use; HIV/AIDS; sexuality; alcohol; drug abuse.

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