Health Risk Behaviors and Physical Symptom Reporting Among Jordanian Youths: Personality and Sociodemographic Correlates

ABSTRACT

Sociodemographic (gender and socioeconomic status) and personality (dispositional self-consciousness) correlates of risk behavior (smoking, seatbelt nonuse, vehicular speeding) and physical symptom reporting were assessed in a sample of Jordanian college students. Statistically significant correlations were found between gender and both risk behavior and physical symptom reporting. Female participants were more likely to complain of physical symptoms, but less likely to engage in risk behavior than males. Socioeconomic status was negatively related to physical symptom reporting, but variably related to risk behavior. Private self-consciousness was not related to risk behavior or to complaints of physical symptoms. Public self-consciousness was negatively associated with seatbelt use. Multiple regression analyses showed that, overall, socioeconomic status and gender were better predictors of risk behaviors and physical symptom reporting than any aspect of dispositional self-consciousness. The implications of these findings are discussed.

Keywords:

• physical symptoms
• risk behavior
• self-consciousness
• sociodemographic variables