Perceived Risk of Cardiovascular Disease and Health Behaviors in Black College Students

For college students, the transition from adolescence to young adulthood can be a time of increased stress and negative health behaviors, such as poor diet and physical inactivity, that may lead to cardiovascular disease (CVD), the primary cause of death in the United States. Blacks are disproportionately prone to CVD. Perception of disease risk is a critical predictor of engagement in healthy lifestyle activities intended to reduce CVD development. This project examined the relationship between perceived risk of CVD and health behaviors in Black HBCU students aged 18–25 years. All participants (n = 14) perceived that they were not at risk for heart disease within the next 10 years. Almost half (n = 6, 42.86%) had moderately high CVD risk scores, and three (21.43%) were at high risk for developing CVD. Scores on the subscales for dread risk, risk, and unknown risk were 28.29, 37.67, and 43.86, respectively. Total scores for perceived risk of heart disease ranged from 20 to 80. The Spearman’s correlation between these Black college students’ perceived dread risk and health responsibility was positive and moderately correlated (rs = 0.62, p = 0.019). A negative and moderate correlation was demonstrated between unknown perceived risk and health responsibility (rs = -0.54, p = 0.046). Thus, higher risk perception is correlated with greater health responsibility, while low risk perception is correlated with less health responsibility. Barriers to healthy lifestyle behaviors identified by the sample included lack of time and sleep, physical inactivity, cost, convenience of unhealthy foods, and low perception of developing CVD. A major implication is the benefit of implementing interventions to modify risk perception and college-specific barriers that increase CVD risk.