Health-promoting behaviors in South African music students: A replication study

Abstract

The study evaluated self-reported health-promoting behaviors and psychosocial well-being of undergraduate music students ( n = 144) and was designed as an attempt to replicate and extend previous studies. The goals were (a) to differentiate those behaviors in undergraduate music students, and (b) to examine the influences of gender and instrument played. Participants completed the health-promoting lifestyle inventory (HPLP-II), the self-efficacy (SES) and the self-regulation (SRS), scales, as well as the positive and negative affect (PANAS) scale. Results show overall deficiencies in music students’ healthy habits, which is in line with previous studies. Generally, low values were found for health responsibility, physical activity, stress management and nutrition. Female students, however, achieved significantly better results for nutrition choices. Keyboard players were found to be the weakest group in health-promoting behaviors. Significant correlations were found between the subscales of the HPLP-II, self-efficacy (SES), self-regulation (SRS) and emotional state (PANAS). These results similar to other studies, moreover, support the assumption that music students’ healthy behaviors generalize across different socio-cultural contexts.