A few studies of risk perception and diabetes have been conducted among college students. Risk perception for becoming ill is crucial to explaining why people engage in health-related behaviors ( 14). Individuals’ risk perception is based on their intuitive judgments when evaluating potential hazards ( 13). However, before attempting to tailor type 2 diabetes awareness programs for this population, it is necessary to identify their perception of their risks for developing diabetes. Therefore, targeted diabetes education programs are needed to give these individuals an opportunity to learn about how they can modify their lifestyle while there is still time to prevent or delay the onset of diabetes at an early age. Unfortunately, young adults may not be aware of the increased risk for type 2 diabetes that results from their lifestyle (e.g., unhealthy food and beverage choices and reduced levels of physical activity). Type 2 diabetes diagnosed at younger ages could place an additional economic burden on society because of the health complications commonly associated with this disease and associated premature mortality, as well as increased health care costs ( 12). Based on research findings linking weight gain and reduced levels of physical activity to increased risk of type 2 diabetes, it is advisable for this population to learn about preventing or delaying the onset of this condition ( 11). A survey of 400 college students revealed that 46.7% of the sample did not engage in vigorous physical activity, and 16.7% were physically inactive ( 10). Young adults tend to gain weight when they attend college ( 7– 9), and physical activity tends to decline in this population. British Journal of Social Psychology Wiley Diabetes Risk Factors and College Students The theoretical implications of these findings are addressed along with their consequences for health promotion. The data are thus consistent with the risk‐factor version of the hypothesis rather than the control version or the artifact explanation. This comparative optimism was associated with equivalent differences in perceptions of these targets on a selection of relevant risk factors, but not in ratings of their capacity to control these outcomes (for which there was consensus across targets). It was found that likelihood judgements for a range of illnesses tended to be significantly lower when made by subjects providing self‐ratings than when made by those providing judgements for the ‘typical’ student and, to a lesser extent, those making judgements for a friend's friend, but not by those doing so for an acquaintance. This possibility was tested in the domain of health, along with Perloff & Fetzer's (1986) risk‐factor version of this downward comparison hypothesis and the hitherto neglected possibility that unrealistic optimism is an artifact of the comparative procedures employed in studies to date. If unrealistic optimism is simply a manifestation of the illusion of control (McKenna, 1993), differences in estimates of the likelihood of events for the self and others (comparative optimism) should have concomitant differences in perceived capacity to control these events. The illusion of control and optimism about health: On being less at risk but no more in control than others The illusion of control and optimism about health: On being less at risk but no more in control.
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