Identifying Patterns of Drinking, Dietary Behaviors, and Physical Activity Among College Students

College provides an opportunity for students to have more autonomy over their behavior; however, college students may not consider the long-term risks associated with poor health habits. Specifically, previous research has shown that emerging adulthood (i.e., ages 18 to 25) is marked by a heightened vulnerability for problematic health behaviors such as increased alcohol consumption, poor dietary behaviors (e.g., eating fast food, skipping meals and increased sedentary time). Although unhealthy behaviors tend to cluster together, scant research has examined patterns of alcohol use, diet (independent of alcohol use), and physical activity among college students. Consequently, the present study sought to (1) identify distinct classes of health behaviors (i.e., alcohol use, dietary behaviors, and exercise behaviors) and (2) compare these distinct classes on personality characteristics related to behavioral control (i.e., sensation seeking and self-control). Participants were 940 (73.4% women) college student drinkers who completed measures of typical alcohol use, dietary behaviors, exercise per week, alcohol-related problems, sensation seeking, self-control, and demographic information. Latent profile analysis was used to identify classes based on three indicators: typical alcohol use quantity, typical dietary behaviors, and amount of exercise per week. Findings revealed four classes best fit the data: Low Alcohol/Poor Diet and Exercise (74.5%), High Alcohol/Poor Diet and Exercise (7.8%), Low Alcohol/Healthy Diet and Exercise (12.6%), and High Alcohol/Healthy Diet and Exercise (5.2%). Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) revealed that classes significantly differed on alcohol-related problems, F(3,929) = 27.92, p < .001, partial η² = .083, sensation seeking, F(3,858) = 12.43, p < .001, partial η² = .042, and self-control, F(3,849) = 8.54, p < .001, partial η² = .029. Relative to other groups, the High Alcohol/Poor Diet and Exercise reported most experiences with alcohol-related problems. Additionally, this group reported higher sensation seeking and lower self-control. Overall, our data support that different patterns of drinking and health behaviors exist among college students. Individuals who drink more heavily and engage in poor health behaviors report experiencing more problems and are characterized by high sensation seeking and low self-control. Given that these students may be at-risk for long-term health adversities, interventions for college students may want to target multiple health behaviors. In sum, the present study contributed to a larger literature on health behaviors among college students by identifying profiles that may be particularly risky for one’s health. These findings may help guide intervention work aimed at improving the health status of college students.