Associations between personal health behaviors, social support systems, and depressive symptoms in a college sample

This study investigated the relationship among personal health behaviors, depressive symptoms, and social support in a sample of 44 college students (18 males and 26 females). Depressive symptoms were measured using the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Social support was measured using the Social Support Questionnaire (SSQ) (Sarason, Sarason, Shearin & Pierce, 1987). Ten personal health behavior items were created based on the American Heart Association\u27s guidelines for a healthy lifestyle. One-way ANOVA tests were performed on the mean SSQ score and the mean BDI score with each health behavior coded as healthy or unhealthy as the independent variable. BDI scores were significantly associated with a lack of physical exercise. Social support was significantly associated with fruit and/or vegetable consumption. There were no significant relationships between social support or depressive symptoms and the eight other personal health behaviors such as healthy eating, alcohol consumption, and smoking, however there were a few interesting statistical trends between alcohol consumption and depressive symptomology. These data suggest that one must be cautious when proposing relationships between depressive symptomology, social support, and health behaviors