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Klára Kovács: Comparing Influencing Factors of Students’ Health Risk Behaviour in the Carpathian Basin by Country

The aim of our study is to ascertain which socio-economic, societal and individual factors influence the health risk behaviour (smoking, binge drinking and substance abuse) of Hungarian students in Central and Eastern European countries. We used a database at the Center for Higher Education Research and Development (CHERD-H) for the analyses, including the higher education institutions in the border regions of five countries (Hungary, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania and Serbia) (IESA 2015, N=2,017). Our results show that although the regions concerned share similar historical and cultural traditions, there are different factors influencing the health behaviour of students in the countries involved. According to our results, with the exception of Serbia, health risk behaviour is more characteristic of male students than of women. Subjective financial situation only plays an important role in health risk behaviour among students in Hungary. The social-partying leisure activities constitute a risk factor in almost all the regions under examination. Running and reading as recreational leisure activities represent a protective factor in Hungary against substance use, as well as sport among students in Subcarpathia (Ukraine). Knowing the meaning of life is a strong protective factor for students in the Partium and Transylvania (Romania). The different dimension of individual trust has an inconsistent effect in the different countries.

MAGYAR PEDAGÓGIA 118. Number 1. 27-54. (2018)

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Magyar Tudományos Akadémia