Barriers to self-management behaviors in college students with food allergies.

OBJECTIVE: This study examined barriers to engagement in self-management behaviors among food-allergic college students (1) within the frameworks of the health belief model (HBM) and common sense self-regulation model (CS-SRM) and (2) in the context of overall risky behaviors.

PARTICIPANTS: Undergraduate college students who reported having a physician-diagnosed food allergy (N = 141). Research was conducted from February 2015 through May 2016.

METHODS: Participants were recruited from college campuses through email and social media. The frequency of adherence to self-management behaviors was measured along with HBM, CS-SRM, and risk-taking behaviors through a self-report survey.

RESULTS: Among all participants, HBM and CS-SRM constructs and Tobacco Use explained 30.6% of the variance in adherence. CS-SRM constructs and Tobacco Use explained 44.8% of the variance for participants with self-injectable epinephrine (SIE).

CONCLUSIONS: Food-allergic college students demonstrate inconsistent adherence, and interventions designed to improve adherence should take both SIE prescription status and contextual factors into consideration.