Document Type
Article
Publication Date
7-1-2025
Journal / Book Title
Covid
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic caused immense physical disruptions, affecting young adults in the U.S. The Health Belief Model is a social psychological framework that predicts the likelihood of adopting health behavior. The purpose of this research is to investigate COVID-19-related health beliefs and dietary behaviors among undergraduate students during the pandemic. Using convenience sampling, a cross-sectional survey was completed by 304 individuals at a New Jersey state university. Survey data included the frequency of COVID-19 prevention behaviors (e.g., wearing an indoor mask, handwashing), and consumption of fruit and vegetables. The Health Belief Model constructs measured perceived susceptibility to COVID-19, severity, benefits, barriers, and self-efficacy. Frequency distributions, t-tests, and Kruskal–Wallis tests were investigated for racial subgroups (Whites, Blacks, Latinos, and Asians). The mean age of the sample was 21.7, with 27% males, and 46% self-identified as White. Whites adopted fewer COVID-19 prevention behaviors (p < 0.001) than non-Whites. Black students perceived less COVID-19 severity (p < 0.01) and stronger perceived benefits (p < 0.05) than the other subgroups. Latino students perceived greater susceptibility (p < 0.01) and greater barriers than non-Latinos. Asians practiced higher mask wearing frequency (p < 0.05) but less daily fruit intake than their counterparts (p < 0.01). This research highlights the importance of handwashing, wearing indoor masks, and consuming produce among university students. Addressing barriers to health action while promoting the benefits of enacting behaviors to mitigate the risk of COVID-19 is warranted.
DOI
10.3390/covid5070102
MSU Digital Commons Citation
Liou, Doreen and Lee, Jong Min, "COVID-19-Related Beliefs and Dietary Behaviors of American Undergraduate Students Vary by Race via the Lens of the Health Belief Model" (2025). Department of Nutrition and Food Studies Scholarship and Creative Works. 147.
https://digitalcommons.montclair.edu/nutr-foodstudies-facpubs/147
Rights
© 2025 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Published Citation
Liou, D., & Lee, J. M. (2025). COVID-19-Related Beliefs and Dietary Behaviors of American Undergraduate Students Vary by Race via the Lens of the Health Belief Model. COVID, 5(7), 102. https://doi.org/10.3390/covid5070102