Dr.Hab. A.A. Pashin¹
PhD A.N. Khmelkov¹
Postgraduate A.M. Vasilyeva^1
1Penza State University, Penza

Keywords: health, health values, gender-specific health attitudes, health attitude parameters and components.

Background. National health situation is commonly ranked among the key life quality indicators and objective measures of the social and national development; and in this context the current national health situation in Russia raises very serious concerns. Multiple studies for the last few decades have been indicative of the negative health trends particularly expressed in the young population.

As reported by the Ministry of Health of Russia, 94.5% of the university entrants are diagnosed with different health disorders; and at least 50% of the school graduates have 2-3 chronic diseases [7].

As found by the joint studies of the Psychological and Educational Problems of Physical Culture Division of the Federal Research Centre of Russian Physical Culture Research Institute (FRC RPCRI) and Russian State Oil and Gas University named after I.M. Gubkin, 7%, 30%, 27% and 36% of the students are classified with the safe, average, below average and low health categories, respectively [3].

Poor health makes it impossible for the students to succeed in the academic education process and professional careers. This is the prime reason why urgent actions need to be taken to improve the health standards, promote healthy lifestyle and encourage conscientious demand for physical culture and sports.

Since a success of any activity largely depends on the attitude to it, a high priority must be given to the health values and their building and promotion initiatives. These initiatives cannot be effective unless the students’ values-driven attitudes to health and healthy lifestyle in every aspect and the relevant motivations and needs are duly studied [4, 8].

Methods and structure of the study. It is the individual relationship concept that implies success of every activity being determined by the attitude to the mission, goals and content of the activity that was applied as a methodological basis for the study [1, 5]. For the test purposes, we applied the Health Attitudes Index Test to rank the health value in the hierarchy of the subjects’ life values and the value intensity classified by the following components: perceptive-affective; cognitive; practical and behavioural ones – that refer to the values manifestations in the emotional, cognitive, and behavioural domains [2]. The intensity rate was estimated by the points for the above components being summated. It shows how well developed the attitude to health and healthy lifestyle is and how expressed its manifestations are.

Subject to our studies in the periods of 2007-2009 and 2013-2014 were 1500 first-to-fourth-year students of the humanities and technical departments of Penza State University attributed to the basic health group [6].

Study results and discussion. Average componential rates of the attitudes to the health values and healthy lifestyles tested in the first-to-fourth-year subjects are given in Table 1 hereunder. As demonstrated in Table 1, variations of the subjects’ attitudes throughout the academic study period (as of 2007-2009 and 2013-2014) are similar. The first-year subjects are tested with the lowest rates; in the second academic year, the value of health tends to grow; followed by a sag and return to the initial level in the third and fourth year. These variations, however, are more often than not statistically insignificant (P>0.05 by Student t-criterion). It should be noted that the health category is ranked number 4 in the hierarchy of eight life values (good things and assets; communion with nature; love and family; health; healthy lifestyle; work/ career/ education; spirituality/ ethical values; self-development) after love, communication and professional progress.

The same trend albeit more expressed was found for the variation of health value (or attitude to health). The rate was found to significantly grow in the second year versus the first one; followed by a significant fall in the third year and a new rise in the fourth year.

It should be noted that the intensity structure every year is dominated by the perceptive-affective component i.e. the emotional component of the index albeit both the positive and negative variations (in the second through third year) are mostly due (in the percentage terms) to the variations of the cognitive and practical components – that may be interpreted as an emphasis on the cognitive and practical aspect of the health value in the second-year students.

These variations appear to correlate with the yearly variations in the practical academic physical education sessions and contributions of a variety of the relevant academic disciplines including the Health Knowledge Basics and Concepts of Modern Natural Sciences plus some other disciplines of high effect on the students’ values.

Upon completion of the above curricula in the third academic year, the health value intensity was tested to fall abruptly to the minimal rates. The cognitive and practical attitudes are replaced by the emotional ones again that are still dominant in the fourth year. It may be mentioned in this context that the variations of attitudes to health and healthy lifestyles generally coincide with the students’ physical fitness variations; e.g. the second-year students are tested both with the highest health values and physical fitness rates in the whole university period.

Gender profiles of the health values are however indicative of the above variations being largely determined by the female students’ attitudes as they outbalance their male peers in most rates and components of the health value. This dominance is statistically significant in the first year; by intensity on the whole in the first-through-third year; by the perceptive-affective and cognitive components in all the four years; and by the behavioural component in the third year (P<0.05).

The intensity variations in the male group were found statistically insignificant (P>0.05); albeit in the first and second year the intensity structure is dominated by the practical component i.e. shows prevalence of the practical aspect in the attitude to health with the relevant higher motivation for activity. Female students of all ages were tested with prevalence of the perceptive-affective component that means the domination of emotional aspects in the attitude to health with the relatively low motivations for activity.