Identification and Ranking of Psychological Predictors of Lifestyle Change Maintenance among Undergraduate Students
Keywords:
Lifestyle maintenance, self-regulation, self-efficacy, emotional regulation, undergraduate students, behavioral psychologyAbstract
This study aimed to identify and rank the key psychological predictors influencing the maintenance of lifestyle changes among undergraduate students using a mixed-methods approach. A sequential exploratory design was applied in two phases. In the first (qualitative) phase, a comprehensive literature review was conducted to extract relevant psychological predictors of lifestyle change maintenance until theoretical saturation was achieved. Data were analyzed thematically using NVivo 14 software, resulting in nine major themes. In the second (quantitative) phase, a structured questionnaire was developed based on the identified themes and administered to 180 undergraduate students from Tehran universities, selected through stratified random sampling. Each item was rated on a five-point Likert scale. Data were analyzed using SPSS version 26, employing descriptive statistics and Friedman’s test to rank the predictors by importance. Results revealed nine psychological predictors of lifestyle change maintenance: self-regulation skills, self-efficacy and confidence, emotional regulation, intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, behavioral consistency and habit formation, social and environmental support, cognitive beliefs and attitudes, cognitive flexibility, and personal values and identity integration. Friedman’s test indicated significant differences in the importance of these predictors (p < 0.01). Self-regulation skills received the highest mean rank (M = 4.67), followed by self-efficacy and confidence (M = 4.54) and emotional regulation (M = 4.39). The lowest-ranked predictors were cognitive flexibility (M = 3.62) and value–identity integration (M = 3.44), suggesting that internal psychological mechanisms play a stronger role in sustaining lifestyle behaviors than contextual or cognitive factors. Findings highlight that self-regulation, self-efficacy, and emotional control form the core psychological mechanisms of lifestyle change maintenance among students. Enhancing these internal capacities through educational, emotional, and behavioral interventions may strengthen long-term adherence to health-promoting behaviors.
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Copyright (c) 2024 Rana Halimi; Maedeh Salehi, Seyed Ali Darbani (Author)
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