YOUNG-ADULT WOMEN - LIFE-STYLE AND HEALTH LOCUS OF CONTROL

A study of 76 young adult women, 38 nursing students and 38 non-nursing students, examined their lifestyle practices and health locus of control (HLOC). Findings revealed a significant difference between reported lifestyle practices and the career choice of these young adult women. The lifestyle practice areas in which the most notable differences occurred included: use of seat belts, frequency of alcohol use, frequency of junk food intake, use of illegal drugs and hours of sleep per night. While differences in HLOC were evident between nursing and non-nursing students, no relationship was found between a young woman's HLOC and her lifestyle practices. The differences in HLOC showed that nurses were more frequently pure internal whereas most non-nurses were found to be double externals. The pure chance category had the fewest number of respondents. The difference in lifestyle practices between these young adult women can be explained in part by curriculum variations, as can the difference in HLOC patterns.