Risk taking profiles among college students: An examination of health-risk taking, anti-racism action, and college functioning
<strong>Objective:</strong> This study expands the literature on risk taking among college students by exploring anti-racism action as a form of positive risk taking. <strong>Participants:</strong> 346 Black (64%) and Latinx (36%) college students (85% female) ages 18-27 years (<em>M</em> = 18.75, <em>SD</em> = 1.31). <strong>Methods:</strong> Participants responded to questionnaires on anti-racism action, health-risk taking, and college functioning. Latent class analysis identified behavioral profiles of risk takers. Indicators of profile membership and associations with college functioning were examined. <strong>Results:</strong> Three profiles emerged: moderate overall risk taking, high health-risk taking, and high anti-racism action. Personal experience with discrimination was associated with a greater likelihood of health-risk taking. Students in the high anti-racism profile evinced greater educational functioning than those in the high-health risk taking profile. <strong>Conclusions:</strong> Risky behavior on college campuses is not homogeneous. Specific interventions and support networks are necessary to support students falling within specific risk profiles.
Authors
- N. Keita Christophe (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1310-2236)
- Natasha Duell (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2325-9333)
- Michelle Y. Martin Romero (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3245-1781)
Institutions
- University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- UNC Libraries
- Published
- 2025-05-03
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.17615/jn1v-d662
- Primary Topic
- Resilience and Mental Health
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00