Understanding Multiple Health Risk Behaviors in Young Adults Through an Integrated Dynamic Framework
Document Type
Presentation
Date of Original Version
3-27-2026
Abstract
Young adults often engage in more than one health risk behavior at the same time, yet these behaviors are still too often studied and addressed in isolation. This limits our ability to understand how risks cluster, reinforce one another, and shape long-term health. This study examined multiple health risk behaviors as an interconnected system rather than as separate problems. Specifically, it focused on behaviors such as substance use, poor diet, physical inactivity, unsafe sexual practices, and sleep-related risks, which commonly co-occur during adolescence and young adulthood and are associated with poorer mental and physical health outcomes. Using a rapid review methodology, 30 peer-reviewed studies were identified, evaluated, and organized to examine three areas: patterns of co-occurring health risk behaviors, associations between these behaviors and mental health, and intervention approaches designed to reduce multiple risks simultaneously. The review showed that multiple health risk behaviors are highly prevalent among adolescents, college students, and young adults, and that these patterns are shaped by overlapping individual, social, and environmental influences. Across studies, co-occurring risk behaviors were consistently linked to worse mental health and broader vulnerability. Intervention-focused studies further suggested that approaches targeting multiple behaviors together may be more effective than single-behavior models. Building on these findings, this work advances an integrated dynamic framework for understanding multiple health risk behaviors in young adults. The framework conceptualizes risk behavior as cyclical, context-sensitive, and shaped over time by interactions among risk factors, protective influences, mental health, and socio-environmental conditions. Rather than viewing unhealthy behaviors as isolated outcomes, this model highlights their interdependence and cumulative impact, offering a more realistic account of how health risk develops and persists. This work contributes a clearer conceptual foundation for prevention research by showing why integrated approaches are necessary for understanding and reducing health risk in young people. It also offers a practical framework for future research and intervention design aimed at improving mental health and overall well-being in this population.
Recommended Citation
Abbas, Mariyam; Fink, Ella R.; Wood, Julia; and Walls, Theodore A., "Understanding Multiple Health Risk Behaviors in Young Adults Through an Integrated Dynamic Framework" (2026). Oral Presentations. Paper 38.
https://digitalcommons.uri.edu/gradcon2026-presentations/38