Elsevier

Journal of Adolescent Health

Volume 69, Issue 3, September 2021, Pages 383-389
Journal of Adolescent Health

Original article
Opportunities to Reduce Young Adult College Students’ COVID-19-Related Risk Behaviors: Insights From a National, Longitudinal Cohort

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jadohealth.2021.06.004Get rights and content
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open access

Abstract

Purpose

To study how young adult college students are managing their health behaviors and risks related to spreading COVID-19.

Methods

We created a national cohort of full-time college students in late April 2020 (n = 707), and conducted a follow-up survey with participants in July 2020 (n = 543). Participants reported COVID-19-related health risk behaviors and COVID-19 symptoms, and also responded to an open-ended prompt about how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected their lives. Quantitative data were analyzed in Stata and we conducted content analysis to identify themes in the qualitative data.

Results

For most health protective behaviors (e.g., frequent handwashing, social distancing), participants were less compliant in summer 2020 than spring 2020, with the exception of face mask use, which increased. In each month of the first half of 2020, only approximately half of participants with any symptoms that could indicate COVID-19 stayed home exclusively while symptomatic (there was no meaningful change from pre-pandemic or over the course of the pandemic). In qualitative data, the participants who had gone to bars or clubs at least twice within a 4-week period this summer reported being bored and/or isolated, stressed, and/or taking pandemic safety measures seriously.

Conclusions

These findings suggest multiple areas for intervention, including harm reduction and risk management education approaches for the students who are going to bars and clubs, and creating policies and programs to better incentivize young people with symptoms to stay home exclusively while symptomatic.

Keywords

Cohort study
College students
COVID-19
Epidemiology
Health risk behavior
Young adults

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Conflicts of interest: The authors have no conflicts of interest to disclose.

Disclaimer: The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement by, HRSA, HHS, or the U.S. Government.